Towelhead

2 out of 5 Stars
It actually rather pains me to only be able to give 2 out of 5 starts to an Alan Ball film. Especially a film with such a strong and talented cast. But I thought Alan Ball completely missed the mark with Alicia Erian's novel. Issues that I had with the book (ie. cringing page after page for Jasira's innocence and youth and how she allowed herself to be so taken advantage of) were made less sympathetic in the film. I think the loss of first person narrative (which made the novel what it was) contributed to taking difficult but important subject matter and turning it into a jumbled and poorly arranged film. Or maybe something got lost in the editing?

Still, Summer Bishil did an excellent job using a poor script adaptation. Her 'Jasira' stuck with me, days after I left the theater.