Exposure (2001)

While the career trajectory of David Blyth as a whole is worthy of discussion, the late 80's and 90's were a particularly curious time for the New Zealand based provocateur. Although Blyth helmed a few projects in his homeland throughout those years, he himself had admitted to having become a journeyman and worked abroad quite a bit, at times on some fairly uncharacteristic things such as four episodes of Mighty Morphin Power Rangers in 1993 and four episodes of the White Fang series in 1994. While speaking to the Never Repeats podcast about the genesis of his film Wound (2010), Blyth spoke of this period and admitted “I'd became so frustrated and I went back and I re-looked at Angel Mine and I said to myself I've gotta go back to my roots... I'd lost all of it, I'd become a journeyman, I'd become a hired gun.” Two of Blyth's standout films from this period were shot in Canada, the first being the unique vampire film Red Blooded American Girl (1990) and the subversive exploitation/road movie Hot Blooded (1997). At the dawn of the new millennium Blyth was back home in New Zealand and made the last of his “hired gun” period, Exposure, which is perhaps the most anonymous and least personal title in his filmography yet like most of Blyth's work is infused with several things that make it an interesting thriller.

After hearing a rustling noise in his boat shed while on his morning jog, photographer Gary Whitford (Ron Silver) is surprised to find a woman, Elaine Drury, inside who had slept in the shed all night after running away from a fight with her boyfriend. The two become friendly and Elaine, impressed by Gary's photographs, expresses her interest in modeling. After shooting a set with Gary, Elaine's modeling career begins to take off although her career is short lived after Gary discovers her murdered in her apartment. Not long after more people around Gary wind up murdered and despite the police's suspicion of him, Gary himself becomes the target, his photographs being the catalyst for the killings.

Much like Blyth's previous film Hot Blooded, Exposure is a film that feels very much “out of time” Visually, the film has all the characteristics of the erotic thrillers that defined the 90's yet its story of a photographer caught up in a web of murder wouldn't have felt out of place in a giallo film from the 70's, yet the film was made and released in the early 2000's which probably accounts for its under the radar status. It's a nice melding of styles and seeing as how both the giallo and erotic thriller tend to crossover, works quite well. As a protagonist, Whitford is certainty atypical in that for the majority of the film he's rather despondent and almost unapproachable which is unquestionably going to be a deciding factor for many viewers, though reveals later on in the story make his gloomy disposition perfectly understandable. The actual murder mystery is a bit unusual for a film of this type, with a strange religious angle attached to it, the reason for the killings being somewhat random and perhaps a bit far reaching which again, is very giallo-like in execution. By far the films biggest strength is its visuals with Blyth's knack for high style in full force, giving the film a very cool, icy blue sheen. The photography motif is put to great use as well, adding to the films sleek look and feel and Blyth does manage to let his surrealist tendencies to show briefly with some memorably strange dream sequences.

On the same episode of the aforementioned Never Repeats podcast, Blyth confessed that the shoot was difficult, largely due to the personality of Silver, especially his treatment of his co-star Alexandra Paul. Blyth stated “Ron Silver made her cry virtually every day 'cause he's a little short ass and he was only there 'cause he had to pay off his wife's divorce bills so he was in a bad mood and every day the producers would say to me “Get him to smile, he's looking too dark...” We'd work at night and he hated that and in fact he walked off one night and it caused so many problems.” Exposure was also the film that led to Blyth taking a decade hiatus from narrative features. Blyth confessed “2000 I made Exposure... and it had so many producers and I came out of it so depressed. I then spent the next ten years as basically the tutor at South Seas Film School.” It was during Blyth's tenure at South Seas where he focused on documentary work with Bound for Pleasure (2002) and Transfigured Nights (2007) before returning to narrative features with Wound. Although Blyth himself might not look back upon the experience of making Exposure with much joy, the films visual aesthetic and various little quirks prove what the best filmmakers can accomplish even when all the elements seem to be working against them.