Chloe showcases what talent can accomplish, especially during the first half of the film. Compelling performances, creative cinematography, and clever direction grab the audience’s attention. Fearing that her husband David may be cheating, Catherine hires the titular character to tempt him. As Chloe reveals what transpires between her and the music professor, she becomes closer with Catherine.
The story is told from Catherine’s perspective: we see how she imagines what happens between David and Chloe gradually, how she wistfully gazes at other couples and compares them to what she thinks her relationships has lost. Gradually, she pulls apart from her friends and family and turns inwards. Julianne Moore delivers a subtle yet skilled performance, as do Liam Neeson and Amanda Seyfield.
The symbolism in the film is relatively straightforward: a marriage loses its romance amidst an icy wintery landscape, the climax occurs during a rainstorm, and characters try to cleanse themselves but cannot quite succeed. Director Atom Egoyan uses glass often to indicate barriers between characters, show possibly distorted reflections, and obfuscate what is transpiring. Often, what takes place in the background, sometimes out of focus, foretells what will occur in the foreground, reminiscent to Martin Scorsese.
Eyes are paramount; extreme close-ups offer insights into the minds of the characters. There are frequent parallels throughout the film, compounding the ambiguity of the situation. The protagonist falls apart at the same time as she feels that her marriage is collapsing. Some scenes are should through an obstruction, like tree branches or street traffic. Some moments may be the clues that expose David’s infidelity or simply nothing. It is up to the audience to put the puzzle together.
Toronto locations showcase the diverse nature of the city, similar to the multiple layers of each character. Catherine looks out of her office window above Yorkville the same way that she spies on her family. Her son Michael performs at the Royal Conservatory of Music like he seems to perform for his family. David is all over town as he mysteriously comes and goes in Catherine’s life. Chloe walks along College Street with the marquee of the Royal Cinema in the background.
Egoyan said that he was given the choice to set the film in San Francisco but chose Toronto because he felt the California city had been sufficiently covered by other films. Perhaps he was also thinking about the Vertigo-like climax (with a hairpin to match) of his film. A low key piano soundtrack serves the rising action well but some Bernard Hermann violins or sharper jump cuts may have added more tension to the climax.
Enthralling, bizarre, and humourous at times, Chloe is an excellent work. Despite that, it may be less than the sum of its very excellent parts. ***½