Chloe (film)

Chloe
US release poster
Directed by	Atom Egoyan
Produced by	Jason Reitman Ivan Reitman Tom Pollock Jennifer Weiss Simone Urdl
Screenplay by	Erin Cressida Wilson
Based on	Nathalie... by Anne Fontaine
Starring	Julianne Moore Liam Neeson Amanda Seyfried Nina Dobrev Max Thieriot
Music by	Mychael Danna
Cinematography	Paul Sarossy
Editing by	Susan Shipton
Studio	Montecito Picture Company StudioCanal[1]
Distributed by	Sony Pictures Classics USA (theatrical)
Release date(s)	September 13, 2009 (2009-09-13) (TIFF) March 26, 2010 (2010-03-26) (United States)
Running time	96 minutes
Country	Canada France United States
Language	English
Budget	$11 million[2]
Box office	$11,702,642 (worldwide)

Chloe is a 2009 erotic thriller directed by Atom Egoyan, a remake of the 2004 French film Nathalie.... This version stars Julianne Moore, Liam Neeson, and Amanda Seyfried in the title role. The screenplay was written by Erin Cressida Wilson, based on said earlier French film, written by Anne Fontaine.

StudioCanal fully financed Chloe, which had already made its budget back via international pre-sales.^[3][4] In 2009, the film received award nominations from London Film Festival, San Sebastián International Film Festival, and Toronto International Film Festival under the category of Film Presented.^[5]

Sony Pictures Worldwide Acquisitions Group paid a low seven-figure sum to acquire the United States distribution rights of Chloe,^[3][6] and the group opened this film in limited theatrical release in the United States on March 26, 2010 through Sony Pictures Classics.^[7] In the United States, this film grossed $3 million theatrically and became one of the higher-grossing specialty films in 2010^[8] (according to Variety, "$3 million is the new $10 million" for specialty films' box office in 2010^[9]).

Several months after the DVD/Blu-ray release of Chloe, Atom Egoyan said that Chloe had made more money than any of his previous films.^[10]

In the wake of Chloe, Atom Egoyan had since received many scripts of erotic thrillers.^[11] Amanda Seyfried's performance in this film also helped her to gain more industry acclaim and receive more opportunities to play more roles.^[12]

Plot

The film opens with Chloe (Amanda Seyfried) dressing herself in front of a dirty mirror. In a voice over, she discusses her business as a call girl, explaining that she must be capable of pleasing her clients with her words, as well as with her actions. Catherine (Julianne Moore), is a gynecologist and her husband David (Liam Neeson), is a college professor. Catherine suspects David of having an affair after she sees a picture of him and a female student hugging on his phone.

After work, Catherine stops by the hotel bar where Chloe spends the majority of her time waiting for potential clients. Chloe, looking at Catherine passionately, tells her that she "[doesn't] usually meet with women." Catherine reassures Chloe, explaining that she suspects her husband of infidelity. She wants Chloe to go to David's coffee shop in the morning and test his loyalty. The next evening Catherine and Chloe meet at a bar. Chloe tells Catherine that she asked David to kiss her, and he did. Angered, Catherine tells Chloe that wasn't what she wanted her to do. However, she insists that Chloe meet with David again.

The next evening, Chloe tells Catherine that she went with David to a garden, where she seduced him. Catherine is heartbroken. Once more, she insists that Chloe meet with David again. The next day Catherine receives a text message from Chloe at work, asking her to meet her at a hotel. When Catherine arrives, Chloe tells her that she had sex with David. She describes the encounter in explicit detail, but rather than causing Catherine more heartbreak, it arouses her. Upon leaving the hotel room, Chloe, feeling remorse, kisses Catherine, who abruptly leaves.

During her son's (Michael) piano recital, she replays her meeting with Chloe, clearly in distress. She spots David, but does not sit next to him. Leaving the recital, Catherine meets Chloe at a hotel and has sex with her. Afterwards, Catherine and Chloe share a taxi and Chloe offers her her hairpin again. She says it was her mother's, and she wants Catherine to have it. Catherine doesn't reply to Chloe but she takes the hairpin. Catherine enters her home to find David waiting for her. He asks her if she's been unfaithful. Catherine becomes infuriated and tells him she's been meaning to ask him the same question. David declines to respond.

The next afternoon, Catherine arrives at her office after lunch to find several missed calls from Chloe and an email with a picture of them in bed together. Catherine calls her and discovers that Chloe is waiting in her waiting room. Chloe enters Catherine's office with flowers, and asks her if she enjoyed the sex the night before. Embarrassed, Catherine admits that she did, but explains that their business is finished and pays her for the work she has done. Chloe leaves Catherine's office crying. Seeking revenge, Chloe goes to Michael’s hockey practice and they flirt.

That night Catherine and David go to a coffee house, where Catherine demands that David admit that he is having an affair. David admits that he lied to her for avoiding the birthday party (because he didn't want to celebrate his birthday), but he denies that he is having an affair. Chloe suddenly walks in and David genuinely does not appear to know who Chloe is. Chloe realizes that it is a trap and leaves quickly. Catherine realizes that Chloe made up her encounters with David and that Chloe loved her because Catherine gave her attention.

Catherine apologizes to David for not having trusted him, and admits that she worried about him because she was getting older and more insecure about her appearance. Then she confesses her sexual encounters with Chloe. David, shocked but understanding, embraces and kisses her.

Jealous, Chloe goes to Catherine's home and has sex with Michael in Catherine and David's bed. Catherine arrives home to find them. Chloe tells Catherine that "money isn't enough to make her go away". Chloe threatens Catherine and holds the hair pin to her neck, scraping it and breaking the skin. Catherine apologizes and asks Chloe what she wants. Chloe asks for one last kiss and Catherine complies. Michael then sees what is going on, startling Catherine and causing her to accidentally push Chloe into the bedroom window, breaking the glass. Chloe manages to grab hold of the frame but then, with a triumphant smile, lets go and falls to her death. The viewer is not shown Chloe hitting the ground, but only paramedics wheeling away the body while Catherine is comforted by her husband. Later, at Michael's graduation party, Catherine is shown to be wearing Chloe's hairpin in her hair.

Cast

• Amanda Seyfried as Chloe Sweeney
• Liam Neeson as David Stewart
• Julianne Moore as Dr. Catherine Stewart
• Max Thieriot as Michael Stewart
• R. H. Thomson as Frank
• Nina Dobrev as Anna
• Meghan Heffern as Miranda
• Laura DeCarteret as Alicia
• Mishu Vellani as Julie

Critical reception

The film opened in 350 theatres to mixed reviews. Chloe was given a 53% "Rotten" rating on Rotten Tomatoes.^[13] Metacritic, which assigns a normalized score from major reviewers, gave the film a 48 out of 100, based on 33 reviews.^[14] Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times gave the film 3.5 out of 4 stars,^[15] while Elizabeth Weitzman of New York Daily News gave the film 1 out of 5 stars.

Production notes

• Financed solely in France, the film was shot in Toronto. Several famous local landmarks can be seen, such as Allan Gardens, Cafe Diplomatico, The Rivoli, the Windsor Arms Hotel, the Royal York Hotel, the Royal Ontario Museum, the CN Tower, the Art Gallery of Ontario and the Ontario College of Art.^[16]
• Liam Neeson's wife, Natasha Richardson, had a skiing accident during filming. Neeson decided to leave the set to take care of his wife, who died from her injury a few days later. The filmmakers changed the script accordingly for Neeson’s absence.^[17] Just a few days after his wife's death, Neeson returned to the set and filmed the remainder of his scenes in two days.^[18]
• Jason Reitman helped persuade Amanda Seyfried to star in this film.^[19]
• Canadian indie rock band Raised by Swans has two songs featured in the movie and the band is mentioned several times by Chloe.
• Anne Fontaine (the writer/director of Nathalie...) said that she was interested in Egoyan's take on her original. Fontaine also said that she even wasn't happy with Nathalie..., because the two lead actresses of the film objected to Fontaine's original intention for a lesbian relationship to develop between their characters.^[20]

Home video release

Chloe was released in the United States on July 13, 2010 in both DVD and Blu-ray Disc. The disc includes an audio commentary, making-of featurette and deleted scenes.

See also

• Nathalie...

References

1. ^ Onstad, Katrina (2009-08-30). "Adapting to Life's Change, on Screen and Off". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/30/movies/30onst.html?_r=1. 
2. ^ http://www.imdb.com/title/tt1352824/business
3. ^ ^{a b} Horowitz, Lisa (2009-10-09). "Sony Picks Up Egoyan's 'Chloe'". TheWrap.com. http://www.thewrap.com/article/sony-picks-egoyans-chloe-8453. Retrieved 2010-07-26. 
4. ^ Canada. "Egoyan closes U.S. deal for Chloe". The Globe and Mail. http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/arts/egoyan-closes-us-deal-for-chloe/article1318927/. Retrieved 2010-07-26. 
5. ^ "Chloe (2009) Awards". Moviefone. 2010-03-26. http://www.moviefone.com/movie/chloe/1430056/awards. Retrieved 2010-12-02. 
6. ^ By (2009-10-08). "Sony seduced by 'Chloe' - Entertainment News, Film News, Media". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118009736.html?categoryid=13&cs=1. Retrieved 2010-07-26. 
7. ^ "CHLOE | a film by Atom Egoyan". Sonyclassics.com. http://www.sonyclassics.com/chloe/. Retrieved 2010-07-26. 
8. ^ http://boxofficemojo.com/movies/?page=weekend&id=chloe.htm
9. ^ Stewart, Andrew (2010-04-24). "Specialty pics face reduced expectations". Variety. http://www.variety.com/article/VR1118018219.html?categoryid=3768&cs=1. 
10. ^ http://www.thestar.com/entertainment/movies/article/901059--the-digital-revolution-film
11. ^ "Atom Egoyan sifts through sex thriller scripts in wake of 'Chloe' - CTV News, Shows and Sports - Canadian Television". CP24. http://www.cp24.com/servlet/an/local/CTVNews/20100713/100713_chloe_DVD/20100713/. Retrieved 2010-10-23. 
12. ^ http://nymag.com/daily/entertainment/2011/03/star_market_can_amanda_seyfrie.html
13. ^ "Chloe Movie Reviews, Pictures". Rotten Tomatoes. http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/10011774-chloe. Retrieved 2010-07-26. 
14. ^ "Chloe Reviews, Ratings, Credits". Metacritic. http://www.metacritic.com/film/titles/chloe. Retrieved 2010-07-26. 
15. ^ Chloe :: rogerebert.com :: Reviews. Chicago Sun-Times. Retrieved 2011-01-06.
16. ^ "Official website of Chloe". http://www.sonyclassics.com/chloe/. Retrieved 2010-12-03. 
17. ^ Onstad, Katrina (2009-08-30). "Adapting to Life's Change, on Screen and Off". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/30/movies/30onst.html?pagewanted=all. 
18. ^ CA. "Director Atom Egoyan praises grieving Liam Neesons professionalism - Entertainment - Arts". The Journal Pioneer. http://www.journalpioneer.com/index.cfm?sid=246100&sc=121. Retrieved 2010-07-26. 
19. ^ Seguin, Denis (2009-09-25). "The great entertainer | Features | Screen". Screendaily.com. http://www.screendaily.com/reports/interviews/the-great-entertainer/5006120.article. Retrieved 2010-10-23. 
20. ^ "Egoyan's Chloe a reinvention of sexy French drama". Cbc.ca. 2009-09-15. http://www.cbc.ca/arts/tiff/story/2009/09/14/egoyan-chloe-press-conference.html. Retrieved 2010-07-26. 

External links

Official

• Official website
• StudioCanal (fr) Chloe

Database

• Chloe at AllRovi
• Chloe at Box Office Mojo
• Chloe at the Internet Movie Database
• Chloe at Rotten Tomatoes