4 out of 5

Director: Atom Egoyan

I couldnt stop watching Chloe. Its one of those ponderous films that – if you allow yourself to get twisted up in its wanderings – that you dont quite want to end. And due to this, it gets docked a star, for the climax of the movie felt like a tacked on moment of thrills instead of the calm, more paced endings of some of Egoyans other films. Chloe, on one level, is essentially about age, relationships, and trust. As with many of Egoyans movies, though, large questions about sex and the meaning of emotions are vaguely poised on another level. Whats been nice about Atoms last couple pictures is the way he weaves these two levels of narrative in there, so if you just want to see a movie about lesbians and affairs, youll be okay. Julianne Moore suspects hubbie Liam Neeson of cheating. She hires woman of the night Amanda Seyfried to test her suspicions. The acting is phenomenal. Moore and Neesons son is a little uneven, but its a believable unevenness for the age hes playing. And Neesons character could be criticized for being predictable, but it came across as a properly mute and layered performance for the role. But Moore and Seyfrieds subtlenesses throughout the movie are… Its hard to explain. They carried these complicated roles and made amazing what might seem like fluff or foolishness in a lesser composers hands. Anyhow, I could ramble on this for a while. If you have appreciated any of Egoyans other films, I can almost guarantee youll enjoy this. If youre down with the sort of mystical eroticism of movies like Eyes Wide Shut, this is probably up your alley. Also, if you like naked women, youll do okay.