Movie Review: Chloe

Chloe (2010) 

Directed by Atom Egoyan

Written by Erin Cressida Wilson

Starring Amanda Seyfried, Julianne Moore, Liam Neeson

Release Date March 26th, 2010

Published March 30th, 2010

“Chloe” is one of the most frustrating films I've seen in a long time. Rarely has such skilled direction been wasted on such B-level material. Atom Egoyan is a master of mood and feeling brilliantly pushing an audience’s buttons; manipulating them into uncomfortable places and toward often stunning revelations.

He brings his skill for mood to “Chloe” and for two acts his mastery of sex, seduction and character has you hooked. Riveting performances by Julianne Moore and Amanda Seyfried tease seduce and shock and keep you guessing just how this movie could possibly end. Then the third act begins and things are downhill from there. What should have been an adult thriller quickly devolves into a highly skilled Cinemax late night trash.

Catherine Stewart (Julianne Moore) is desperate. She believes her husband, David (Liam Neeson) is cheating on her. Finding a damning photo of David while she is snooping through his I Phone, Catherine decides she needs definitive proof. To get it Catherine turns to a young woman she has seen in the neighborhood near her medical practice.

The young woman is Chloe (Amanda Seyfried) and it is clear from her manner with men and her unusual hours that she is a high end call girl. Catherine hires Chloe only to flirt with David and recount his reaction. Chloe takes things further than mere flirting but rather than being angry, Catherine finds herself turned on. This twisted scenario only grows more twisted from there as Catherine herself begins an affair with Chloe.

You get from the plot where this is likely heading but early on Atom Egoyan and writer Erin Cressida Wilson brilliantly create an atmosphere, a look, a sensuality that distracts from anything familiar. There is an air of desperation and sex that permeates Chloe in the first two acts that is truly sexy, not merely trashy. The sex is purposeful and erotic without being trashy.

Then comes the third act and things go off the rails. Though Atom Egoyan never loses his incredible gift for atmosphere he and writer Ms. Wilson fail to invent a satisfying conclusion for Chloe. Instead the film devolves from a smart, sexy and daringly adult thriller into a high end version of a direct to video soft-core porno. 

The final scenes of Chloe fly close to parody, so close that one could almost make the case that the ending is a satire of B-movie thrillers. However, there is far too much artfulness in Egoyan's direction and far too much skill from the dedicated cast for anyone to assume satire, unfortunately. 

Amanda Seyfried and Julianne Moore are an electric duo in Chloe. Seyfried, long an object of girl next door fantasies, finds a range and depth like she's never shown before. Pushed by the unbelievably talented Ms. Moore, Seyfried radiates sex so strongly that you can hardly blame a married woman for falling prey to her. Ms. Moore is no victim in Chloe mind you; her submissiveness is really an act of passive aggression that few actresses could achieve.

”Chloe” is so disappointing because I like so much of it. Atom Egoyan's direction is solid and the script from Erin Cressida Wilson, for the first two acts, is very strong. The failure comes in finding an ending that satisfies. I won't spoil it for those who still wish to see this highly erotic and often quite good thriller, but be prepared for a letdown. 

The very last scene in “Chloe” is among the most awkward and oddly humorous that I have seen. It may just be my twisted sense of humor but the seriously awkward mother son bond that comes in the final act will certainly have psychiatrists buzzing afterwards. 

Finally, you may have noticed that I had little to say about Liam Neeson in “Chloe.” Neeson lost his wife Natasha Richardson while shooting “Chloe.” He left midway through production to be at her side and returned just days after her death to wrap his role. According to IMDB Neeson's scenes were cut back to accommodate his leaving and his grief. Under the circumstances Neeson is quite good in “Chloe” but there is little that one can say about an actor working under such a circumstance.

Movie Review: Secretary

Secretary (2002) 

Directed by Steven Shainberg 

Written by Erin Cressida Wilson 

Starring Maggie Gyllenhaal, James Spader, Jeremy Davies, Leslie Ann Warren 

Release Date September 20th, 2002 

Published September 19th, 2002 

Recently, I have come to hate even the idea of a romantic comedy. The genre's many conventions and classic elements have overwhelmed any film tagged with the romantic comedy label. Take for instance the Resse Witherspoon romantic comedy Sweet Home Alabama, which seems as if it were assembled in a romantic comedy factory. Every element of that film was clipped from previous films in the genre and pasted together under a new title with a big star's name attached to the poster. However, just when I have lost all faith in movie romance comes a most unlikely romantic comedy called Secretary. This is by no means a traditional romantic comedy, but it does have both comedy and a very unique romance.

In Secretary Maggie Gyllenhaal plays Lee Holloway, a troubled young woman just out of the hospital after what was believed to be a suicide attempt. Lee is looking for a way out from under her dysfunctional family which includes an alcoholic father (Stephen McHattie) and her overprotective mother (Leslie Ann Warren). Lee has taken to cutting herself with knives and needles as a way of dealing with her parents' constant arguing; the apparent suicide attempt may not actually have been suicide but rather an accident while cutting. Lee is still trying to figure herself out but she seems to take pleasure from hurting herself.

One way for Lee to get away from her parents may be to marry an ex-high school friend named Peter (Jeremy Davies) or she could get a job and make her own way. Lee decides to get a job and, using her amazingly fast typing skills, Lee lands a job as a secretary for a lawyer named E. Edward Grey (James Spader). It doesn't take long before Lee figures out that there is something unusual about her new boss who seems quite particular about the order of the office. When Edward catches Lee cutting herself, he orders her never to do it again and his forcefulness begins a strange sort of courting that includes sado-masochistic punishments for mistakes--which Lee makes a lot of once she realizes how much she enjoys it.

Secretary is so unique and funny that you laugh at things you once may have thought shocking or even appalling. The performances by Maggie Gyllenhaal and James Spader are pitch perfect which helps the audience to accept the weird behavior. Though Spader has been criticized for too often trading on his creepy persona that he has cultivated throughout his career, I found it interesting to see him make that creepiness a likable trait for once.

Director Steve Shainberg does an excellent job of combining likable performances with difficult material. It's likely that if Secretary were made without the amazing lead performances of Gyllenhaal and Spader it wouldn't have worked. Even when the film seems to fly off the rails in the last 20 minutes, the actors save it with their endlessly likable performances and fiery chemistry. In a year light on good comedy, Secretary is a standout. The material might not appeal to all audiences, but the actors will--if you give them the chance.