Towelhead

2007 Directed by Alan Ball

How can you find yourself if no one can see you?

A young Arab-American girl struggles with her sexual obsession, a bigoted Army reservist and her strict father during the Gulf War.

Summer Bishil Aaron Eckhart Toni Collette Maria Bello Peter Macdissi Eugene Jones III Lynn Collins Chase Ellison Matt Letscher Chris Messina Gemmenne de la Peña Carrie Preston

Alternative Titles

Tabou(s), Nothing Is Private, Złe spojrzenia

drama

111 mins More details at IMDb TMDb Report this film

Popular reviews

Review by Kurdt ★★★★

Alan Ball wrote American Beauty, one of my favourite films, and created Six Feet Under, probably my favourite TV show of all time, so of course it's no surprise I love this directional effort of his. The only reason I hadn't watched this until now was it's unavailability, but it turns up on Netherlands Netflix of all places and I jumped right on it.
The film follows Jasira, a young Arab-American girl who is sent to live with her father in the suburbs of Texas. At first, the two of them, new to the neighbourhood, get unfairly treated by a war veteran neighbour and his son (assuming that they're supporting Saddam Hussein in the war), and Jasira gets bullied at…
Review by Allison M. @ Slamdance 2021 🌱 ★★★½

The name of the movie "Towelhead" has gotten criticism. So much so that the movie may be appearing under the title "Nothing is Private".
The movie was actually great. It takes place during the early nineties, when Saddam Hussein was feared by all during the Gulf War.
The characters are great. Writer/director Alan Ball (who gives most of the writing credit to the novelist) wrote so seamlessly.
Summer Bashil (the star) was fresh and new. That worked for her most of the time.
The story had incredible setup and payoff without seeming cheesy or didactic. The only reason why I don't rate it higher is because the beginning of the film seemed so flimsy. It made me very nervous. With…
Review by Serena ★ 7

Possibly the most problematic movie I’ve ever seen? It’s obvious this story of an adolescent Lebanese girl was told by a middle aged white man. The only redeeming quality and reason I’m not giving it 1/2 a star is miss toni collette
Review by cultney ★★★★★

I found this movie to be very realistic. Most people don't want to talk about how girls begin to mature when they are teenagers, let alone center an entire movie around it. Summer Bishil did an amazing job as Jasira and I would love to see more of her work. Toni Collette is one of my favorite actresses and I liked the way her character interacted with Jasira. I bought this randomly and after watching it I'm really glad to own it and I will watch it again.
Review by Charisse 👸🏻 ★★

With the exception of Toni Collette’s character, all of the adults in this movie are garbage.
Review by meg ★★

this film made me extremely uncomfortable because ya know..... the MEN.
Review by Natasha C. ★★★★

Great 'little' movie, i liked!
Review by Daniela Loera ★★

I feel like this film had so much potential but it somehow fell short. It touches some very important issues –sexual awakening and race being some of those– but some of the characters often feel a bit too much like stereotypes.
Review by Marc ★★★½

Eieieiei, Aaron Eckharts Charakter. Überhaupt die Männer in diesem Film.
Aber Alan Ball (American Beauty, Six Feet Under) kann was. "Towelhead" hat starke "American Beauty" Vibes, auch wenn er nicht dessen Qualität erreicht. Summer Bishil ist die treibende Kraft hier.
Review by richh ★★

bad vibes man.
Review by Todd Hill ½

The leavings of one man's unhealthy fascination with a 13-year-old girl and her vagina. Thank you, Alan Ball, for foisting this on the world.
medium.com/@warm3wind
Review by Brad Henderson ★★★½

A dark comedy by Alan Ball, we have come accostomed to his style over the years with his TV work and of course the classic film American Beauty

A little bit indecent this film to be completely enjoyable particularly with underage sex and some racial issues could be a problem for some. This is at the heart of the middle eastern war between USA and Iraq where a young girl is trying to fit in to living in a red neck world .

I get the feeling Alan Ball may have written this during the George Bush Snr years but may have taken time to get fully realised or made.

Recent reviews

Review by Rain Gottlieb ★★★½

This review may contain spoilers. I can handle the truth.

This was quite a good film, but incredibly difficult to watch for several reasons. Jasira was such an endearing character to focus on, and it is genuinely heartbreaking that every adult in her life was a complete piece of shit except for the Hineses.
I really wish the film didn't end with sympathy for her rapist. I don't care how horribly his life ended up or anything like that. He was a rapist, and him calling the ambulance for Melina doesn't redeem him at all.
Review by Jennifer Moline ★★★½

One of the most uncomfortable movies I've seen in a long time.
Review by mary reaser

i skipped half the movie coz only toni collette matters
Review by utges ½

Ni yo sé por qué me ha dado por ver esta película, ha sido una experiencia verdaderamente desagradable e incómoda.
La primera parte está bañada de un presunto humor negro completamente fuera de tono y sin más sentido que el de justificar todo un seguido de escenas donde se humilla a la protagonista de forma continuada, rompiendo todo tipo de intimidad hasta el punto de pensar que el maltrato no solo está en la ficción, sino que también está presente en la forma que tiene el director de tratar a la actriz y al personaje que interpreta.
La segunda parte aparenta redimirse, pero no mejora en absoluto. Desaparece el "humor" por completo y se enfatiza con la problemática de los…
Review by Marc ★★★½

Eieieiei, Aaron Eckharts Charakter. Überhaupt die Männer in diesem Film.
Aber Alan Ball (American Beauty, Six Feet Under) kann was. "Towelhead" hat starke "American Beauty" Vibes, auch wenn er nicht dessen Qualität erreicht. Summer Bishil ist die treibende Kraft hier.
Review by meg ★★

this film made me extremely uncomfortable because ya know..... the MEN.
Review by richh ★★

bad vibes man.
Review by kyla👾 ★★

this movie said a lot
Review by hannah ★★★★★

Very realistic depiction of a young girl coming of age/discovering sexuality.
Review by wpmayhew ★★½

This was all over the place.
Review by Michael SweatpantsDisco ★★★★

Usually stories this awkward are full of cringe but this was great.
And I had to watch this right after Uncle Frank just to get another fix of Alan Ball & Peter Macdissi.
Review by pariswhimsy ½

This is a horror movie and you can tell a white man wrote it what a horrible awful fantasy he writes and luxuriated in and he twists everything I didn’t even finish it because no way you end this could forgive the way this story is told. I hate this movie forever. She’s not even Lebanese??? This actress is Indian-mexican so why would U cast like this?? And she’s supposed to be half white in the movie ?