film review: adoration
Australian filmmakers seem to have a penchant for creating either self-deprecating comedies or hard-hitting dramas. Perhaps the intention behind Australian film is to shatter a myth; to uncover the tensions lurking beneath the perfect Australian façade, or to break the illusion of the idyllic seaside. It’s clear that Australian-made erotic drama Adoration—albeit by a French director, Anne Fontaine—is no exception to this tradition.
Whatever Fontaine’s intentions, there is certainly something unsettling beneath the surface of the water. In her previous work, Coco before Chanel, Fontaine studied the life of Coco Chanel before she became an international fashion icon and designer. Her fascination with aesthetic beauty and what drives beneath it is again explored in Adoration, but on a much more risqué level.
Based on the novel The Grandmothers by Doris Lessing, Adoration tells the story of the friendship between two women: Roz (Robin Wright) and Lil (Naomi Watts). The two women have an extremely close relationship—they have grown up together, gotten married (Roz to Harold, played by Ben Mendelsohn; Lil is now widowed), they live in close proximity to one another, and have brought up their sons as if they were family. Living in what is essentially paradise, on the sunshiny coast somewhere in New South Wales, they have extremely privileged and undisturbed lives.
That is, until the dynamic between the two mothers and their sons changes dramatically. As the muscled ‘gods’ that they have created tempt Roz and Lil, they bring to the surface the sexual desires that have been simmering away. What transpires is a bizarre set of sexual affairs: Lil with Roz’s son Tom (James Frencheville) and Roz with Lil’s son Ian (Xavier Samuel). These relationships not only break down Roz’s marriage with Harold—though he remains oblivious to her indulgences—but also more importantly, put strain on Roz and Lil’s friendship. Though, rather intriguingly, not as much strain as you would anticipate.
This film is wonderfully shot. The sun-drenched colours make for a stunning cinema experience and really accentuate the almost mythic nature of the characters. Watts and Wright are fantastic in their performances—although as the years go on, Watts doesn’t seem to age, and perhaps this is indicative that she is just too young for this role.
The dialogue is stilted at times, being almost stage-like and therefore slightly contrived, but the actors have done their best to make it as natural as possible. Frencheville is a bit wooden as Tom, who is disappointing considering his performance in Animal Kingdom, but perhaps this is reflective of the dialogue written for his character.
Although the subject matter in Adoration is undoubtedly contentious, I felt it was an interesting exploration of the closeness of female friendships. At times there are almost erotic undertones in the way Lil and Roz interact with each other. These themes are brought up in the film, which only makes the relationships they have with each other’s sons to be all the more disturbing.
Adoration is simply a study on taboo relationships, the deep complexities they infuse in human emotions, and the societal norms that will ultimately stand in the way of their true happiness.
