MOVIE REVIEW: CHLOE

3/25/10

SYNOPSIS: CHLOE is a suspenseful story of love and betrayal. When Catherine (JULIANNE MOORE), a successful doctor, begins to question her husband David‗s (LIAM NEESON) fidelity, she sets out to resolve her suspicions with the help of an alluring young woman, Chloe (AMANDA SEYFRIED). Soon caught in a web of sexual desire, Catherine finds herself on a journey that places her family in great danger.

REVIEW: The name Chloe probably means a lot of different things to a lot of different people. In my case, it is the name of a perfume that my Mom likes and it is also the name of Priscilla’s sister’s American bulldog. In the case of this film, it is the name of the incredibly striking and tempting young woman played wonderfully by Amanda Seyfried (I know a couple of Amandas too). She seems innocent and not so innocent, sexy yet simple, humble but very determined, loving and yet desperately desiring to be loved. Amanda fits the role right and she did it right. It doesn’t hurt that she is teamed up with Julianne Moore and Liam Neeson who play the married couple David and Catherine Stewart. As their marriage got older and colder, Catherine steps into a tornado of turmoil and torment because she believes her husband is cheating on her. Julianne Moore expertly plays this aging wife who falls victim to her insecurities and her suspicions and it catapults her to making the “indecent proposal” to Chloe. The world of infidelity (or even suspicion of infidelity) is a dark, dark world that suffocates. Strangely enough, I kept thinking to myself the familiar phrase “mo money, mo problems”. You see, they are a very well-to-do couple. She is a gynecologist and he is a successful college professor. Their home looks a lot like the vampire family home in Twilight. It is very rectangular and not exactly Priscilla’s style but she would have loved it anyway I’m sure. This movie is chock full of promiscuity, suspicion, temptation, and a healthy amount of awkward moments.

This film is sexy and mysterious. It does start out a bit slow and a little dull but it picks up nicely around the midpoint. The performances were appropriate and well done as you would expect from this cast. I found out after seeing it that Natasha Richardson, Liam’s wife, passed away while this movie was being made. Of course Liam was at her side before and after her death, but after that he did return to finish the movie. Props to Liam, that must have been very difficult to do but hey, the show must go on right? Another appealing aspect of the movie is the fine job in cinematography and the excellent choice of filming location, Toronto (it looks a lot like New York City). Although the subject matter is very typical, the actual storyline does not follow the exact same formula. It is very similar to Unfaithful but with a spiraling, spinning, double looping twist. Although the characters were feebly developed, the story and the performances help you forget all that and continue on. Oscar-nominated Director Atom Egoyan has done another fine job with this work, but no Oscar nominations will come out of it. If you liked Unfaithful or anything similar, I recommend this film.

Review By Cine Marcos 
cinemarcos@smartcine.com

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