A Skinemax movie cloaked in art-house fancy dress, the sex thriller “Chloe” might have worked better as an out-and-out popcorn flick starring, say, Jennifer Lopez.
Instead, it stars Julianne Moore and Liam Neeson (two ridiculously busy actors, each of whom should probably instruct their agents that it’s OK to say no once in a while) as a wealthy Toronto couple whose marriage is cooling but still salvageable — until the husband, a music prof, skips a birthday party his wife put a lot of effort into planning. Worse, she finds a text on his phone saying “Thanks for last night” from a pretty student. So she hires a chic hooker (Amanda Seyfried) as a honey trap and settles back to see whether her husband’s paws get stuck.
MORE: PopWrap chats with Julianne & Amanda!
Arty director Atom Egoyan tries to maintain a mood of muted sophistication in this remake of France’s “Nathalie,” luxuriating in the upper-class décor and encouraging lots of long pauses and meaningful looks. There are times when the married couple’s sleek Frank Lloyd Wright-styled ultramodern home is the most exciting presence on screen.
Moore and Neeson do far too much moping about their marriage. “When did we stop picking each other up at the airport?” they wonder, as if we cared.
If your script is inspired by “Fatal Attraction” and “Desperate Housewives,” you might as well go with it; a director more comfortable with genre elements might have picked up the pace and amped up the scares.
Though the movie eventually gets around to a well-considered plot twist, the main point is the sex and nudity, which the actresses are happy to supply and many viewers will be equally happy to observe. “Chloe” may be otherwise forgettable, but it offers one of the steamier sex scenes you’re likely to see at the movies this year.