Chloe (2009)

Directed by: Atom Egoyan | 99 minutes | drama, thriller | Actors: Amanda Seyfried, Liam Neeson, Julianne Moore, Nina Dobrev, Max Thieriot, Meghan Heffern, Laura DeCarteret, Mishu Vellani

If you suspect your husband of cheating, you can now hire an agency in Italy to shadow him and collect evidence if possible. Handy for divorce proceedings, for example. In ‘Chloe’, gynecologist Catherine uses a different method: she asks a dazzling call girl to test her husband…

Catherine (Julianne Moore) wonders if she has entered a midlife crisis. Her adolescent son Michael (Max Thieriot, whom you may know from ‘Jumper’ (2008)) is absolutely no longer listening to her, her sex life has been in the doldrums for quite some time and to make matters worse, her husband – the charming teacher David ( Liam Neeson) – having an affair. While she’s arranging a surprise party for him on his birthday, he deliberately misses his flight home to have a drink with one of his students. When Catherine intercepts an MMS on his phone the next morning, from the student, she wants to find out if David can still be trusted. Or is she imagining things that aren’t there?

She enlists the help of the young, beautiful Chloe (Amanda Seyfried), whom she had previously met by accident in the bathroom of a fancy restaurant. Chloe is a call girl by profession and clearly the type David could fall for, Catherine thinks. Chloe accepts the assignment to put him to the test and see where it leads. Catherine continues to pay her, but slowly but surely she doesn’t know whether she should be so happy with what Chloe reports to her and the consequences that it entails…

‘Chloe’ is certainly not a new story. It is based on the 2003 released ‘Nathalie…’, a French film by director and co-writer Anne Fontaine. In this production, director Atom Egoyan (‘Where the Truth Lies’ (2005)) is at the helm, for which he really has a top cast at his disposal. It has to be, because ‘Chloe’ is a film that mainly revolves around the interaction between some complex characters. The success of such a film therefore largely depends on the performance of the actors. And they are more than okay!

Also in order is the exciting story, which captivates from minute one. “How far would you go to find out the truth?” reads the tagline. A question that will be familiar to many. Knowing the truth—as painful as it may be—is often preferred to ignorance. This movie is no different. Where temptation, lust and routine are the main topics in the relationship, one can of course expect the necessary sex scenes. Egoyan has filmed this very stylishly and lets the erotic tension splash off the screen at times. Even if the clothes stay on…

After ‘Mamma Mia!’ (2008) and ‘Jennifer’s Body’ (2009) this could be the definitive breakthrough for beauty Amanda Seyfried. With her big, innocent eyes and beautiful figure, she is naturally cut out for the role of desirable Chloe. Her character in the film, however, is less pronounced and the makers can blame themselves for that. Due to a lack of guidance, Chloe’s reactions sometimes seem a bit inconsistent and you have forgotten the fact that she is actually a call girl after half an hour. And what is her past actually? How did she get to where she is now?

The ending isn’t particularly special either, but these are things that certainly don’t make this film as a whole any less fascinating! The top cast, the tension, the recognizability of relational issues and – not to forget – the surprising plot twist halfway through the film are certainly worth seeing. Not to forget the eye candy for both men (Seyfried, Moore) and women (Neeson, Thieriot). ‘Chloe’ is definitely the best erotic thriller of recent years.