Exposed (2016)

A police detective investigates the truth behind his partner's death. The mysterious case reveals disturbing police corruption and a dangerous secret involving an unlikely young woman.

Director:

Gee Malik Linton (as Declan Dale)

Writer:

Gee Malik Linton (screenplay)

Stars:

Ana de Armas, Keanu Reeves, Christopher McDonald

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Ana de Armas	...	Isabel De La Cruz
Gabe Vargas	...	Manuel 'Rocky' De La Cruz (as Gabriel Vargas)
Sandy Tejada	...	Yesenia
Ariel Pacheco	...	Naldo (as Ariel Rolando Pacheco)
Ismael Cruz Cordova	...	Jose De La Cruz (as Ismael Cruz Córdova)
Anthony Ruiz	...	Homeless Man
Stephen Thompson	...	Albino Floating Man
Keanu Reeves	...	Detective Galban
Mira Sorvino	...	Janine Cullen
Denia Brache	...	Gloria De La Cruz
Laura Gómez	...	Eva De La Cruz (as Laura Gomez)
Jeanette Dilone	...	Marisol De La Cruz
Danny Guzman	...	Gucci De La Cruz
Christopher McDonald	...	Lieutenant Galway
Leopold Manswell	...	Kendu Wallace

Storyline

Detective Galban (Keanu Reeves) finds his partner and close friend, Detective Cullen, murdered in a subway. On the hunt for the killer(s), Galban begins to suspect his partner may have been heavily involved in drug dealing and police corruption. As Galban investigates, people who knew Cullen are conveniently found dead. The closer Galban gets to the truth, both Cullen's wife, Janine (Mira Sorvino), and his lieutenant (Christopher McDonald) try to persuade him to back off, fearing his findings may discredit Cullen and expose corruption within the police department. Galban's only remaining lead is Isabel, a young, devout, Latina girl who resides with her in-laws. Galban fears her life could be in jeopardy should he get too close to her. However, Isabel has recently experienced something not from this world, something mystical that she believes is truly a miracle. Not unlike Galban, Isabel is dealing with her own demons from the past, a past that just may lead them to the truth; in turn,...

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Plot Keywords:

police detective | police partner | policewoman | soldier | deception | 

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Taglines:

Some cases are better left unsolved.

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Genres:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violence including a sexual assault, and for language

Did You Know?

Trivia

The director's cut was edited by Roman Polanski's longtime editor, Hervé de Luze, and is a surreal story that focuses on a young Latina who was abused as a child. This version is seventy percent in Spanish.

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Quotes

Detective Galban: There's this girl, she knows what happened. What am I going to do, bring her in? She'd be dead in a week.

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Alternate Versions

The writer/director intended the movie to be a dual language, Spanish/English social drama about violence towards women and child abuse. The producers instead turned the movie into Keanu Reeves cop thriller. An alternate version that follows the director's vision was edited by Roman Polanski's longtime editor, Hervé de Luze

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Soundtracks

That's Harr
Written by James Harris, Charard Jas Simmons, Miguel Eugenio Gonzalez & Pablo E. Gonzalez Yermenos
Performed by Jaquae
Courtesy of Let's Grow Entertainment

User Reviews

Flawed, but has an intriguing whodunit at its core

"Exposed" is flawed, but has interesting elements. The film was originally titled "Daughter of God," directed by first-time director Gee Malik Linton. The original production was reportedly surreal, very political and multi-cultural. But financing fell through and the producers turned to Lionsgate, who invested in what they thought was a thriller centered on Keanu Reeve's character. The studio didn't feel the original film held broad audience appeal and re-cut it to conform to the film they thought they had invested in. Subsequently, Linton disavowed the film and sued to have his name removed from his only theatrical credit.

The final result reflects the production's uneven genesis. There are two story lines, one in Spanish with subtitles and another in English, which interweave and ultimately merge. Two other story lines seem a bit disjointed and incomplete, presumably due to wholesale cuts.

The story lines share a common theme concerning reluctance to pursue the truth for fear of the consequences. One character was severely traumatized by a childhood experience. Current events conspire to push this character over the edge, compelling a response to the inner turmoil. Another character seeks to uncover the truth about a friend who was not the person he thought and who had secrets he would rather not have learned. There are also a few surrealistic events that don't make much sense, but may have made more sense in the original version. And an individual's death leads to unexpected consequences.

The underlying whodunit is intriguing with some satisfying twists. The truncated subplots provide ample red herrings, although they aren't entirely satisfying. If the film had been shot as detective story, the writer and director would have taken markedly different approaches. What we have is a bit of a hodgepodge that affords glimpses of the story that it might have been. If the director and writer had concentrated on the mystery rather than the social commentary, they would have had a much better film. Having not seen the original film, I cannot comment on how effective it was as a social commentary, although it reportedly received generally favorable reviews from the preview audiences.

Details

Country:

USA

Language:

English Spanish

Release Date:

22 January 2016 (USA)

Also Known As:

Daughter of God

Filming Locations:

New York City, New York, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$6,000,000 (estimated)

Cumulative Worldwide Gross:

$269,915

Company Credits

Production Co:

Company Films, Emmett/Furla/Oasis Films (EFO Films), Fortitude International

Technical Specs

Runtime:

102 min

Sound Mix:

DTS-ES

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1