If sex, deception, paranoia and the forbidden are elements of cinematic interest then check this out. Chloe announces the setting among the rich and privileged, with Julianne Moore as Catherine, a gynecologist, and Liam Neeson, as David, a professor of music. They reside in a comfortable post-modern glass house with plush beds, grand fireplaces and marble in every room. Invading their affluent lifestyle is high-paid escort Chloe (Amanda Seyfried) whose clients are usually men. She first comes onto Catherine in the ladies’ room at a posh restaurant. Is it more than a chance encounter? Catherine is intrigued and flattered by the come-on, but doesn’t engage. At least not yet.
Catherine’s husband is probably getting something else on the side. Further suspicion escalates on the night of David’s birthday when he misses his flight back home. This causes eyebrows to raise from all Catherine’s friends and associates who have attended his surprise birthday smash. Upon returning home a day late, David’s lack of apology is further troubling to Catherine. On top of it, there is the problem of their teenager, 17-year old Michael (Max Thieriot), who is sneaking a girl into his bedroom at night.
It is Catherine who is on the verge of a midlife crisis. But shouldn’t she get some proof that her husband is cheating on her? In another incidental meeting with Chloe the idea of entrapment crosses Catherine’s mind. Catherine hires Chloe to meet David by chance in 
public, flirt with him, talk naughty with him… the ground rules are never specifically set, at least not according to Chloe. Relishing the part, Seyfried really is tantalizing as this foxy and teasing bitch.
Chloe goes beyond the flirting by seducing David, groping him, taking him on a ride first at a menagerie garden and then at a hotel. Catherine scalds Chloe for not following directions, but alas, she wants to hear more. Insidiously and ingeniously the film wraps us up in its decadent journey which is all the tastier once Catherine and Chloe begin a heated affair of their own.
Egoyan is the director of such swanky sex-art movies as “Exotica” and “Where the Truth Lies” which dealt with obsession to the breaking point. He keeps us guessing with how mischievous David is and how reliable Chloe is to sticking to her employer’s requests – she wants to be in further involvement. The film is not perfect. But it keeps you buzzed in anticipation, working at times at being as good as the better scenes of “Eyes Wide Shut” and the Roman Polanski films “Frantic” and “Bitter Moon.” The suspense of the film gets you lusting, really. The actors are pitch-perfect in their distrust, quavering and needing.
96 Minutes. Rated R.
TWISTED DRAMA / SEXY IMAGES / SATURDAY AFTER DARK MOVIE
Film Cousins: “Half Moon Street” (1986); “Bitter Moon” (1992); “Exotica” (1995); “Eyes Wide Shut” (1999); “Where the Truth Lies” (2005).
