It's difficult to explain the full range of emotional impact caused by Exotica . Not until the final scene does everything finally snap into focus, and when it does, the revelations have all the sudden, stark clarity of a vast nightscape illuminated by a flash of lightning. Past scenes come rushing back with new meaning.
Whole perspectives change.
The Exotica is a strip club in Toronto, where men go to watch, but not touch, a variety of unclothed women who strut their stuff to the pulsing sounds of a rich and varied soundtrack. The bond between these two is more profound than that of a normal dancer and client. Only in retrospect do we ultimately understand. Currently, his business is being investigated by Francis, and this forms the narrative link by which everything is eventually tied together. Thomas is the shy, nerdy sort who doesn't know how to go about picking up men, until fate deals him a pair of opera tickets and a means by which to find a seemingly-limitless supply of partners.