DVD REVIEW: Chloe

A FATAL ATTRACTION

In the hands of a lesser director, Chloe would have disintegrated into a senseless erotic thriller quite rapidly. But given Canadian filmmaker Atom Egoyan's ability to weave a dense plot with layers of meaning hidden beneath the obvious, it maintains its momentum all the way to the limp denouement. Adapted from a 2003 French film called Nathalie, much of the film's success owes to two dazzling performances from the ever-dependable Julianne Moore and Amanda Seyfried, who plays the title role with shocking honesty.   

From the opening frames we know she's going to dominate the proceedings as she gets dressed for 'work', and her voice-over explains that she's good at being a classy call girl and knows how to give her clients what they really want, regardless of whether they're able to express it or not. Cut to a gynaecologist, Catherine (Moore), whose clinic happens to be across the street from the hotel where Chole picks up her clients. Here's how Egoyan sets up his plot  -- Catherine is in conversation with a patient who rues her inability to reach orgasm. The good doctor states matter-of-factly that an orgasm is merely a muscular contraction and that's all there is to it. Except, her face involuntarily betrays something else to the viewer. 

Meanwhile, Catherine's husband David (Liam Neeson) seems to be acting in mysterious ways and she suspects him of cheating on her. Her son Michael (Max Thieriot) brings his girlfriends home for sleepovers, despite her obvious disapproval. The designer house that the family inhabits looks stunning but is as cold as the lives of the people who occupy it. All three of them seem at loose ends -- David has late-night chats with his students and flirts relentlessly, Michael breaks up with his girlfriend on video chat and Catherine alternates between spying on the two men. On a whim, she then decides to  investigate her husband's activities. She hires Chole to seduce him and report back to her. As the young woman does what she's paid for, her revelations muddle Catherine's mind even more and lead her on a slippery path. Yet, somehow you imagine, she probably wanted to go there in the first place. 

The scenes where Chloe reveals the seduction of David to Catherine are exquisitely performed by both women. And then there's a tour de force moment towards the end, when Catherine confesses her indiscretions to David. The pathos Moore's breakdown evokes is overwhelming -- the hopelessness of a woman who knows she's past her prime. Chloe's own complexes and loneliness are mirrored on Seyfried's face which alternates between chilling resolve and vulnerability. She likes to be in control of situations and poor Catherine thinks she's the one calling the shots. 

When it comes to constructing an atmosphere of lingering disquiet, of foreboding, of muted despair, there are few filmmakers who can match Egoyan's flair. Lyrical frames, deliberately langurous camera movements, haunting music and a clinically perfect production design all add up to a narrative of simmering angst. His intuitive handling of the melodramatic material prevents it from slipping into a misogynistic text even when the narrative falls off the tracks in the last act.