Combustible Celluloid


New movie reviews, DVD reviews, interviews, and all things film.

 
Home | Archive | About | Blog | Lists | Links | E-mail me | Sign up for my weekly newsletter! |  
 



Dark Shadows ***
Darling Companion **1/2
God Bless America ***
Marvel's The Avengers ***1/2
ReGeneration ***
Sound of My Voice ***
The Pirates! Band of Misfits ***1/2
The Raven ***
Safe **1/2
The Lucky One 1/2*
4:44 Last Day on Earth **1/2
Blue Like Jazz **
The Cabin in the Woods ***1/2
Damsels in Distress ***1/2
Lockout **1/2
The Three Stooges ***
The Turin Horse ****
We Have a Pope **1/2
American Reunion **
Goon ***
More
 



Bird of Paradise
Maniac Cop
Miss Representation
Mother's Day (2012)
Murder Obsession
Tim and Eric's Billion Dollar Movie
Underworld Awakening
The Vow
Clueless
Haywire
Hit!
Men in Black
New Year's Eve
The Red House
More
 

Film Features

Peter Lord
Abel Ferrara
Nicholas Sparks
Whit Stillman
Sean Hayes
Terence Davies
Peter Lord Interview
Juan Carlos Fresnadillo
Taika Waititi
Will Ferrell
Interview: Ewan McGregor [SF Examiner]
Interview: the 'Project X' stars [SF Examiner]
Interview: Oren Moverman
Interview: Rachel McAdams
Interview: Ti West
Interview: Elizabeth Banks
2011: The Year's Best Films
Year's Best DVDs and Blu-Rays
San Francisco Film Critics Circle Awards
The Decade's Ten Best Films: 2000-2009
My Top 100 Films [Updated]
My Top 60 Directors [Updated]
Christmas Movies
Essential Halloween & Horror Movies
Cult Movies
More Features and Interviews
 

Film Books

Have Yourself a Movie Little Christmas, by Alonso Duralde
Not Quite a Memoir: Of Films, Books, the World, by Judy Stone
James Agee: The Library of America Collection, by James Agee
Just Making Movies, by Ronald L. Davis
More Books
 



Home
Reviews A-C
Reviews D-F
Reviews G-J
Reviews K-M
Reviews N-Q
Reviews R-T
Reviews U-Z
 

The online film magazine Combustible Celluloid offers new movie reviews, DVD reviews, film reviews, actor interviews, actress interviews, director interviews, film books and all things cinema related for the thoughtful and passionate. Online for ten years! Over 3000 reviews!

 
SEARCH MOVIES / CELEB

Advanced Search

 
 
© 1997-2012 Combustible Celluloid



Chloe (2010)

Rating: 3 Stars (out of 4)

Sex Jive

By Jeffrey M. Anderson

The Canada-based, Oscar-nominated director Atom Egoyan has plenty of experience with adult dramas about sex, including Exotica (1995) and Where the Truth Lies (2005), and his new Chloe -- which is a remake of the 2003 French film Nathalie -- comes with his usual brand of chilly intelligence and maturity.

Gynecologist Catherine Stewart (Julianne Moore) suspects her professor husband (Liam Neeson) of having an affair (or affairs) with his female students, so she hires a pretty young girl, Chloe (Amanda Seyfried), to seduce her husband and prove her suspicions. Chloe meets with Catherine to give her reports, and subtly tries to seduce the older woman and eventually succeeds. When Catherine subsequently rejects her, Chloe has sex with Catherine's teenage son Michael (Max Thieriot), as a way of "getting closer" to Catherine. Things grow dangerously out of hand as Chloe becomes more and more obsessed and unhinged.

The four characters behave and relate to one another in emotionally realistic ways, and the fatal lack of communication that leads to their troubles seems painfully genuine. Where the movie goes slightly wrong is in the thriller portion, wherein the Chloe character behaves more and more irrationally, out of love and/or obsession for Catherine. Her obsession turns homicidal, and the final act of the movie becomes an almost standard-issue Hollywood erotic thriller. Not to mention the odd coincidences that bring all these characters together. But overall, the strong characters and Egoyan's patient, thoughtful mood and pacing make it an above average effort.


Buy DVD | Buy Blu-Ray
Trailer | Poster
Bookmark and Share
With: Julianne Moore, Liam Neeson, Amanda Seyfried, Max Thieriot, R.H. Thomson, Nina Dobrev, Mishu Vellani, Julie Khaner, Laura DeCarteret, Natalie Lisinska, Tiffany Lyndall-Knight, Meghan Heffern, Arlene Duncan, Kathy Maloney, Rosalba Martinni
Written by: Erin Cressida Wilson, based on a screenplay by Anne Fontaine
Directed by: Atom Egoyan
MPAA Rating: R for strong sexual content including graphic dialogue, nudity and language
Running Time: 96 minutes
Date: March 26, 2010
Please also see my more in-depth review at Common Sense Media
Home
New Movies
New DVDs & Blu-Ray
Features
News
Search Reviews
Classic Movies
Film Books
Gallery
Links
About
Contact
All scribblings © 1997-2012 Combustible Celluloid