Everything Is More Important Than My Dissertation Part 1 – Compact(ish) Review: Chloe
I should’ve really read about this film before watching it. First of all, finding this girl:
sexually attractive was one of the more unsettling experiences of my life. She will no longer simply be “Karen from Mean Girls” or “that one from Mamma Mia”, she has earned ‘learning her name’ privileges in my book. (It’s Amanda Something).
Secondly, I totally missed the memo on how erotic this film was. It was reminiscent of those late ’80s/early ’90s sexy thrillers, but thankfully skillful direction made it less horrendous and sleazy than many of those were. The film itself was very aesthetically pleasing: we were given luxury hotels and modern-art-style glass houses and offices framing beautiful people in more beautiful clothes, all clean lines and soft colours. Though I can’t help but feel that it’s a problem when that is one of the best parts of a film. Although this isn’t necessarily a criticism. Amanda Something was fantastic as Chloe, and Julianne Moore was wonderful as the unhappy wife (although I hope one day she will be in a film not about cuckoldry). The story itself worked very well, we were led by the nose through quite a tangle and – maybe I’m just dense – I did not see half of what happened coming, but for some reason it fell a little flat as all the drama and suspense and WTF-ARE-YOU-DOING built you right up to… not very much. However, any film that inspires me to write a review the day after watching it is worth a look in (unless that film is Altitude), so yes, go for it, if just to see Karen from Mean Girls all grown up.
H.
