Alan Ball returns… with another beauty of a razor-sharp American satire which packs a major wallop. Alternately disturbing, laceratingly satirical and affectingly poignant.
THE HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
Summer Bishil turns in a gutsy, quietly riveting performance as Jasira.
THE LA TIMES
This movie will challenge you on a number of levels, including some beliefs you’d never thought you’d question.
AT THE MOVIES
[Ball] succeeds admirably and with dramatic force, blending themes of racism, liberalism, emotional betrayal, abuse, hate speech and pedophilia into a confronting adult drama peppered with shocks and black humour.
THE AGE
It’s impossible to look away.
CHICAGO TRIBUNE
It’s Ball’s complex and frank approach to subject matter normally depicted in black-and-white terms that distinguishes Towelhead from so many coming-of-age dramas before it.
MIAMI HERALD
...[A] shocking and subversive coming-of-age melodrama. Perceptively blunt and incendiary, Towelhead is one of the most challenging cinematic efforts of the year.
MOVIE EYE
It shows a bravery that’s increasingly rare in American movies.
THE NEW YORK POST
It’s clever and original with an excellent cast. Ball’s script catches a lot of the novel’s pop, often word for word.
THE WASHINGTON POST
Towelhead is tough stuff. It’s also brilliant stuff. Proceed, with caution, accordingly.
LA DAILY NEWS
As it becomes clear that Ball, in essence, has just restaged American Beauty with a socially conscious paint job, the sensationalism of Towelhead looks more and more like a dramatic tic.
ENTERTAINMENT WEEKLY
Racism, teen sex, and war are all hot button issues. In Alan Ball’s genius Towelhead, all of those above mentioned subjects go hand-in-hand in a truly wonderful cinematic experience…Boasting ten-dimensional characters and the sophisticated juggling of difficult themes, Ball’s powerful, complex movie is a must-see.
FILM THREAT
Makes the provocative [American] Beauty look like a comparative tea party.
HOLLYWOOD REPORTER
The long-awaited directorial debut of Alan Ball does not disappoint.
CINEMATICAL
