Chloe Review
By David Kempler
Chloe Sizzles, But the Plot Fizzles
I've found a film that you probably don't want to take your mother, father, son, or daughter to - unless squirming uncomfortably is something that you treasure. Because I try not to know what a film's about before I go, I am often surprised. However, this kind of surprise, when taking my mother, turned into a combination of being afraid to look at or talk to her, with just a bit of laughing to myself at the absurdness of it all. The reason in this case is that Atom Egoyan's, "Chloe", is as sexually graphic as anything I've run into in quite some time.
Catherine (Julianne Moore) and David Stewart (Liam Neeson) are a fabulously successful married couple. Each is acclaimed in their respective field. They have a 17-year-old son, Michael (Max Thierot), who lives with them and, like most boys his age, he knows best and isn't going to listen to what anyone else has to say, especially his parents.
David has a wandering eye for pretty young things and Catherine is convinced that he is cheating on her. Her tactic for trying to find out the truth is, at best, questionable and, at worst, as stupid as could be imagined. Enter Chloe (Amanda Seyfried), a gorgeous young escort. Her job is to attempt a seduction of David so that Catherine can either confirm her suspicions or dismiss them. Unfortunately for the entire Stewart family, Catherine's plan brings about unforeseen circumstances that threaten to rip their lives apart.
Egoyan delivers a mostly boring story that is totally dependent on sexual tension. On that front he delivers in spades. On every other front it doesn't work at all. See it with someone that you are sexual with or want to be sexual with, and hope it gets them going. Do not see it with someone close to you that you are not sexually involved with unless you want to exit talking about the weather while staring straight ahead.
