Nothing Is Private (2007)

The screenplay was adapted by Ball from the novel Towelhead by Alicia Erian, and is set in Texas in 1991, during the first gulf war. It follows thirteen year old Jasira as she bounces between her abusive and uncaring mother and her pedophile neighbor, to an abusive father, and a horny boyfriend.

This is uncomfortable, heavy material, but a streak of dark comedy and the compelling performance of Summer Bishil pulls the audience through. This should have "Best Ensemble" locked up at the SAG Awards next year. I'll tell you now to look for Macdissi to pick up an Oscar nomination for Best Supporting and possibly Eckhart as well. But the real story here is Summer Bishil.It's one of those performances that is so subtle and complex, that it leaves you asking for more. This deserves not only an nomination but the Oscar itself.

Even though some of the antagonists in NOTHING IS PRIVATE do some pretty despicable things, most are fully realized, complicated characters. In fact, nearly every character has some kind of baggage, though some have flaws that lead to more serious consequences than others.

So far at TIFF, I think I've seen most of the candidates for best picture, and I have to say that NOTHING IS PRIVATE is the front-runner in my mind. It may be a tough sell in the heartland to have a judging finger pointed straight back at yourself, but sometimes deep down we all realize we need it. That kind of thing goes over like gangbusters in the Hollywood Oscar-voting set. But most importantly, NOTHING IS PRIVATE is American film-making at its finest.