Chloe

Starring: 4X Oscar nominee Julianne Moore (Far From Heaven & "30 Rock"), Oscar nominee Liam Neeson (Schindler's List & The A-Team), Amanda Seyfried ("Big Love"), Max Thierot (Jumper), Nina Dobrev ("The Vampire Diaries")

Written by: Indie Spirit Winning writer Erin Cressida Wilson (Secretary) based on the 2003 French film Nathalie

Directed by: Oscar nominated director Atom Egoyan (The Sweet Hereafter)

Plot: Twisted romantic thriller about a married woman who suspects her husband of cheating so she hires a prostatute to test him.

Trailer: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_ZRM143l9CM

Review:
Beautifully shot, well-acted, stylish, twisted, and disturbing tale of jealousy and obsession. This film is a technical masterpiece with a vile plot. I was curious how Seyfried would be in a role like this. The answer is: compelling and layered. Almost everything else was dreck. It's difficult to go up from such a laughably dumb premise with unlikeable characters. The dishonesty and stupidity of a woman testing her husband like that is abhorrent. A business transaction like that will only lead to trouble. I will admit that I liked the turning point in the plot toward the end of the film. It seemed like it was going to improve or at least become like a European version of Fatal Attraction. It improved a bit, but it didn't deliver the punchy ending that movies like Fatal Attraction and Swimfan often deliver. The director instead went with a more subtle ending, so subtle in fact that I didn't understand the last shot and neither did the filmmakers. They didn't even have a definite answer for the last shot in the DVD commentary. I like characters' actions to have motivation behind it. The last shot seems to suggest a motivation that doesn't match with the turning point for Moore's character and marriage. I was left bewildered. If you want to watch a fun romantic thriller, go for The Crush or Fear. If you want to watch an artistic film along the same reign as Chloe but far superior, go for Wicker Park, one of my favorite films. Skip this movie.

Rating:

Writing-D- only reason it didn't get an F is b/c of the mid-movie plot change

Acting-A

Directing-A

Music-A

Cinematography-A

Editing-C- 2 very needed scenes were edited out and only available to watch in the special features. Bad call.

Costumes-A- I want to steal Chloe and Catherine's wardrobe

Art Direction-A

Hair-A

Makeup-B

* Star- That's only for Seyfried's performance & the prettiness of the film. Damn this movie.