film review: chloe

Directed by acclaimed independent Canadian/American filmmaker Atom Egoyan, Chloe has been described as an “erotic thriller,” based on the French film Natalie (2004). The film begins with Catherine (played by Julianne Moore), a doctor who begins to suspect that her husband David (played by Liam Neeson), a university professor, is having an affair. This suspicion is not uncalled for: David does not attend the birthday party that Catherine has organised for him, because he missed his flight after flirting with one of his adoring students. Indeed, throughout the film Catherine openly notes that he flirts with every woman he meets. With the hopes of catching her husband in the act, Catherine hires a beautiful young escort, Chloe (played with confidence by Amanda Seyfried) to seduce him. But this causes a chain reaction of events that place her family in danger.

Aside from the thriller aspects of the plot, the film is really about what happens to a long-term married couple once their romance has died. In various scenes throughout the film both Catherine and David reminisce about the happy times they spent together when they were younger. But despite their successful careers, and their talented young son, a classical pianist, their marriage becomes strained by temptation and betrayal.

Bringing back memories of thrillers from the ‘90s, the film unfortunately turns into an unconvincing and formulaic melodrama where Chloe and Catherine engage in an affair themselves. Chloe’s mental state and her obsessions are unbelievable – however, the question of truth, and the mind games that are played between the characters, provides some entertainment.