Chloe

Image courtesy of Sony Pictures Classic

Toronto based filmmaker Atom Egoyan is well known among the indie film crowd for his non-linear tales of alienation, seduction, and isolation in such mid-90s hits as Exotica and The Sweet Hereafter. He’s made a few more since then, but nothing quite as memorable. Egoyan’s latest film, Chloe, finds him revisiting these same themes (minus the non-linear narrative format) in his remake of Anne Fountaine’s 2004 French film Nathalie, wherein a suspicious wife hires a prostitute to seduce her husband.

In Egoyan’s version, +Toronto gynecologist Catherine Stewart (Julianne Moore) is immersed in the clinical side of sex while her husband David (Liam Neeson), a popular college professor, has no problem flirting openly with his students. Slowly over the years, this successful couple has fallen victim to a breakdown in communication and intimacy. Catherine feelings of alienation from her teenage son Michael (Max Thieriot) and her festering insecurities about her flirtatious husband eventually come to a head when she finds a suggestive text message on David’s cell phone one morning.

Instead of confronting her husband, she decides to obtain “proof” of his infidelity by hiring a call-girl, Chloe (Amanda Seyfried), to seduce David and report back to her. At first, Catherine is appalled by Chloe’s story. Yet, because she is so desperate for intimacy of any kind, Catherine quickly finds herself seduced by Chloe’s extremely detailed erotic tale. As the “affair” between David and Chloe escalates, the relationship between Catherine and Chloe intensifies; ultimately leading everyone involved to an ambiguous, violent end.

All in all, Chloe offers good performances, evocative cinematography, and intensely steamy action while addressing some rather interesting issues. However, just when you think Egoyan is back on top of his game, Chloe goes from erotically engaging to downright ridiculous. The first two acts are fantastic because Egoyan effectively uses the erotic game of “Who’s seducing who?” to build the narrative tension. Unfortunately, once Chloe reaches its lesbian climax, the refractory period (i.e. the 3rd act) veers off on an odd Fatal Attraction tangent with an ending so cliché, it’s almost laughable.

Part of this may be due to the fact that Egoyan admittedly altered the script for Neeson’s brief absence during production when his wife (Natasha Richardson) died from a skiing accident. It’s unclear whether or not this is the case. However, since Neeson’s character is little more than a backdrop in this character study of enigmatic seduction, it’s definitely a factor to take into consideration. In any case, whether or not you’re willing to sit through Egoyan’s latest flick that’s too “artsy” to appeal to mainstream audiences with an ending too mainstream for the art film crowd just to see a little girl-on-girl action, is entirely up to you.


© Left From Hollywood 3/26/10