Chloe (Atom Egoyan, 2009): Toronto, Canada

Reviewed by Jacqueline Gomez at the Santa Barbara International Film Festival 2010.

“Choe” directed by Atom Egoyan, tells the story of a doctor named Catherine (Julianne Moore) who hires escort Chloe (Amanda Seyfried) to seduce her husband David (Liam Neeson) whom she suspects of cheating. Yet Chloe turns out to have plans of her own for Doctor Catherine and her family.

Julianne Moore as always, does a wonderful job portraying Doctor Catherine, an anxious wife who goes to extreme measures to make sure she is not losing her husband to a younger woman. Moore, who has been in “The Forgotten” and “Children of Men” is so raw in the scene when Chloe explains the sexual acts she and her husband committed. When she broke down the entire theater was silent as we such listened and felt her sadness. I had higher hopes for Amanda Seyfried. With her movies such as “Mama Mia” and “Dear John,” both did well I expected a little more from this young actress. Yet I was disappointed with Seyfried. Her eyes were always empty, as though she was thinking about her next line rather than paying attention to what the other actor was saying. She did okay but nothing really stood out in her performance.

The screenplay written by Erin Cressida Wilson. Who has also done “The Resident.” I did find the screenplay to have a three act structure yet the end was very confusing and I didn’t like it all. There were some twists that I found original such as Chloe falling for Catherine and becoming obsessed with her.

The mise-en-scene was eye-pleasing and interesting. The way costume designer Debra Hanson dressed Chloe made her such an interesting personality. Her large coats, long blonde hair, Marilyn Monroe figure, and black lingerie really brought Chloe to life even if Amanda Seyfried’s acting wasn’t phenomenal. The low light they showed during the sex scene, and brilliant fill they used to light up Chloe’s porcelain skin.

The editing was done by Susan Shipton. Shipton as also worked on films such as “Where the Truth Lies” and “Being Julia” did an excellent job with the editing. The editing for the most part is quick yet the story is still easy to follow. There was one scene where Chloe and Catherine were having a conversation that I feel lasted too long and I got a little bored. But other that I was kept intrigued. “Chole” was a good film, I wouldn’t say excellent but because of Julianne Moore it is worth seeing.