Chloe Movie Review

By Ron Wilkinson Mar 25, 2010, 21:37 GMT

A successful doctor (Moore) begins to believe her husband (Neeson) is having an affair. She then decides to try and catch him by hiring an escort (Seyfried) to seduce him. Naturally, complications happen that put the entire family at risk. ...more

Predictable but enjoyable mystery thriller with great psycho performances by Julianne Moore and Amanda Seyfried

Oscar nominated director Atom Egoyan puts together a very entertaining mystery thriller about love gone bad. The potboiler love drama has evolved with the help of filmmakers like Egoyan from a simple whodunit to a search deep inside the soul. It is no longer about whether a person is unfaithful or not but whether their significant other thinks they are unfaithful or not. A man is his own worst enemy in these cases and the unraveling of rationality makes great material for the screen.

Egoyan makes the best use of this with perfect close-ups and lots of close interior shots that lend the film that mandatory film noir creepiness. The film starts with a surprise party given by Catherine (Julianne Moore) for her husband David (Liam Neeson). David is away on a business trip as part of his job as a professor of music and is expected back in time for the party. Surprise, surprise, he doesn’t show up for the party because he has decided to stay the night because he is, well, tired. Catherine suspects unfaithfulness. Not an unreasonable suspicion if your husband is a sex machine like Neeson who is also a music professor who travels a lot and has lots of meetings with women.

This is when the film goes from good to great. David’s character is allowed to slide into the background and Catherine’s own feelings of self-doubt, guilt and inadequacy are allowed to bubble to the surface. Even better, Catherine is a very successful, established and rich doctor who has the world at her fingertips. There are very few actors who play this part as well as Julianne Moore. She combines pure unvarnished sensuality with vulnerability to present herself as a typical wife. Then she comes on with a marginal grip on reality that lends itself perfectly to romantic drama with very foreboding overtones.

It’s a one-two punch that Hitchcock would heartily approve of and screenwriter Erin Cressida Wilson goes to town with it. Catherine hires high-end prostitute Chloe (Amanda Seyfried) to test David’s faithfulness. All seems to be going according to plan as she gets periodic reports on David’s activities until she finds herself strangely attracted to Chloe. This attraction distorts the supposedly objective detective in progress while it slowly reverses the roles of David and Catherine in the ethics of marriage contest. The plot proceeds with a steady pace as it moves to its guilt-ridden and tragic, if somewhat predictable, climax.

The film is a remake of the 2003 “Nathalie” directed and co-written by Anne Fontaine and based on an original idea by Philippe Blasband. The 2003 version was not well received and was completely passed over for awards. So much the better for the producers of this film. It is a great story that suits Julianne Moore to a tee. Her Oscar nominated performance in “Far From Heaven” dealing with the problematic hubby is the perfect launching pad for this film.

Oscar nominated Liam Neeson (“Schindler's List”--1993) is not asked to do a lot in this movie. He is a husband who starts out normal, if detached, and stays that way. His most important duty is to act as a benchmark to underscore Catherine’s mushrooming unease as events overtake her. The less rational she becomes the more rational he becomes. There is no better way to drive any woman insane and the females in the audience will feel a close kinship to the cruel reality that eventually substitutes for Catherine’s happy marriage.

For those of us who love Julianne Moore and hang on her every word this film is wonderful. It is good to see her in a commanding role after the strangely small role she has in “A Single Man.” Liam Neeson and Amanda Seyfried also put out very good performances. Seyfried’s is demanding; she has the least experience by far and has to play a part almost as complicated as Moore’s.

The film stops short of milking every last drop of horror that could befall those who abuse the trust of a marriage, which is good. We can imagine---no need to exploit the details. The Toronto setting is different and provides variety for previous Egoyan collaborator Paul Sarossy’s cinematography. Music by Mychael Danna (“Little Miss Sunshine”).

Directed by: Atom Egoyan
Written by: Erin Cressida Wilson (screenplay) Anne Fontaine (motion picture "Nathalie")

Starring: Julianne Moore, Liam Neeson and Amanda Seyfried

Release:  March 26, 2010
MPAA: Rated R for strong sexual content including graphic dialogue, nudity and language
Runtime: 96 minutes
Country: USA / Canada / France
Language: English
Color: Color