- Title: Exposed
- IMDb: link
A common reaction to watching 2016’s Exposed is “Um, what?” That’s also the correct reaction. Reuniting Knock Knock stars Keanu Reeves and Ana de Armas in a film which only briefly has them both on camera together, Exposed is at least two (maybe three) separate convoluted tales smashed together in a confused and haphazard fashion by writer/director Gee Malik Linton.
While Linton, under the name Declan Dale, wanted a surreal tale involving themes of abuse and its effects on victims both immediate and over time, Lionsgate instead wanted a cop picture. What was delivered is a little bit of both, but not a good version of either. While the stories eventually connect at the end of the film, they don’t ever true fit together leaving audiences questioning what they did with the last 100 minutes of their lives. There are certainly better ways to spend your time.
Reeves stars as the cop in the department no one likes. Its not really explained why no likes him. He seems capable enough if still haunted by his wife’s death which is brought up multiple times but never explored. Turns out the only one who could stand him was his dead partner who was the dirtiest scumbag in the entire department. Looking into his partner’s death, sometimes against orders and sometimes with the okay of his Police Captain (this isn’t a movie for consistency) leads him on a merry chase with no answers in sight.
Ana de Armas stars as Isabel, a teacher at some kind of Catholic school or daycare (I could never figure out which) who has an unsettling experience in the subway one night that leads to seeing ghostly and angelic figures around the city, an obsession with protecting a young girl she believes may be abused, and an ominous feeling of danger closing in. The truth of Isabel’s experience will eventually erupt in violence which brings the two stories together without offering a satisfying conclusion to either. There’s also a subplot involving Isabel’s brother-in-law which flames out at some point as well.
If there’s anything to praise about the film it’s that Exposed is far from uninspired. There’s certainly a story here that the writer/director and his stars are invested in telling. And there are flashes where you can see what the film might been. As constructed, I don’t know if it could have ever been a good film, but it certainly could have been more cohesive than the mishmash results seen here. You could spend 100 minutes watching Exposed, and several more hours thinking about its many issues, but none of that effort is worth your time.
Watch the trailer
