Chloe

Amanda Seyfried and Julianne Moore as Chloe and Catherine

Dir: Atom Egoyan (Adoration, The Sweet Hereafter)
Cast: Julianne Moore, Amanda Seyfried, Liam Neeson, Max Thieroit, Nina Dobrev
Canada/USA/France, 2010

Reason to see: Atom Egoyan films are always must sees in my book

Atom Egoyan's latest film brings us a suspense thriller based centred on how much we trust the ones we love. Playing with questions like: How far would you go? What kind of role would you take to find out more. An active one? A passive one? Would you bring others into the mix on this ... exploration? is a fascinating place to begin. We begin alongside Catherine, played by Julianne Moore, who ponders these questions while questioning her husband David's (Liam Neeson) fidelity.

Julianne Moore is fantastic as Catherine, pairing emotional fragility with a strong desire for the truth. It's a great character which brings the suspicious wife idea to a whole new level by pushing the boundaries to search for the truth. We also have a stunning turn for Amanda Seyfried whom carries the sexy title role with maturity and grace, she's charismatic and mysterious and pulls us right into the screen. I was very impressed with this transition to a more adult role, though there were just a few moments where I was slightly confused and something felt a little off. But, she was great the vast majority of the time. Liam Neeson delivers a perfect performance as the husband David. I also have to say that it's a refreshing to see film that although it's about the relationships, it's predominately focused on the female characters, and in essence the guy is literally 'the husband'.

I enjoyed the tone of Chloe, a lot. The tension is held very well giving it the perfect current for the thriller aspect of the film, keeping the the viewers curiosity level engaged at all times. The balance of intrigue and emotion keep the film driving forward at all times. The suspense is played very well, and I know that I'm already curious to watch it a second time round.

I loved seeing it set so clearly in Toronto, and I'm sure fellow Torontonians will appreciate the setting as much as I did. From Cafe Diplimatico to Allen Gardens to Yorkville we get to see many of the great downtown spots of our city. It's fun to pick out all the familiar places and ponder where others could be.

Overall I found it to be a strong drama-based thriller with very interesting and unique characters brought to life with intensity from the lead actors. My emotions as well as curiosity & mind were engaged throughout the entire film.

Shannon's Overall View:
I enjoyed it
I'll watch it again
I'd recommend it to fans of drama-based thrillers

See also: Chloe DVD Review

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© Shannon Ridler, 2010


Liam Neeson in CHLOE, Courtesy of E1 Entertainment


Amanda Seyfried as Chloe, Courtesy of E1 Entertainment