Oct 22, 2010 01:09 PM
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Themes involving marital tensions and infidelity has many a times lent a well endowed plot to some well known films-'American Beauty', 'Revolutionary Roads', 'Fatal Attraction', 'Unfaithful' and'Poison Ivy'.'Chloe' also treads the familiar path and marches to glory.
Julianne Moore and Liam Neeson play the characters of an urban successful couple. David(Neeson) is a professor and Catherine(Moore) is a gynaecologist. Their only son is Michael who is an aspiring musician. Catherine's domestic life is far from being perfect where she finds her husband and son drifting slowly away from her. Instead of attacking the problem head on, she tries to investigate and fix things only to make it more murkier. She suspects David of cheating on her and sets Chloe(Seyfried), a baby faced hooker on him, only to fall hopelessly in her arms. That is the most striking point of the movie as it manages to give a wholesome blow to anyone's subconscious. What if you do something you explicitly disapprove of? Is it hypocrisy or weakness?
Catherine's heart is torn apart as she suffers rejection from David and Michael, her family and everything. Her kind hearted nature of a doctor slips on the path of lust and frustration. Julianne Moore is a great actress and she does not fail this time either. She portrays the conflicts in Catherine superbly bringing back memories of a similar performance in'The Hours'.
Amanda Seyfried has grown up from her awkward experiences of doing girl on girl scenes in'Jennifer's Body'. She flawlessly plays the hopelessly in love Chloe. Her character seems dark and revengeful like that of Drew Barrymore in'Poison Ivy' but viewers will get the surprise as she is not a house breaker. Chloe's dialogues are philosophical giving her a depth that makes you fall in love with her. This is testified by the fact of Catherine wearing her pin in the end. Chloe however fails to become larger than life even though at times she comes out as a hooker with a golden heart as Viviene in'Pretty Woman'.
Though this movie was agreat success, the director would have done some justice to the plot by exploring in detail the emotional and obsessive side of the Chloe-Catherine relationship. By avoiding it, the movie just remains a domestic tale of a love marriage gone wrong rather than a love that threatens a marriage.
We are all hungry for love and support and sometimes forget the source if we are fulfilled. Is this always apt? This is what the movie is about. I am sure this one would not be released here.
For some info sake, let me mention that Neeson lost his wife in an accident when he was shooting for this film so the script had to be changed. If you are very meticulous, you will find the gaps.This movie also has a sad yet mellodramatic end ala'Poison Ivy' fashion. It will also remind you of the scene in which Jennifer dies in'Jennifer's Body' with a look of love and hopelessness at her girlfriend and killer. Movie is based on the Anne Fontaine's original'Nathalie'.
