Atom Egoyan’s new film ‘Chloe’ is recommended for filmgoers who love a powerful, contemporary relationship drama.

The film’s intriguing scenario sees an attractive, professional married woman, Dr Catherine Stewart (Julianne Moore), suspect her husband David Stewart (Liam Neeson), an academic, of being unfaithful. To test out her theory Catherine pays a beautiful local escort girl, Chloe (Amanada Seyfried), to flirt with him and see how far she can get with him. The film is an American adaptation, by Erin Cressida Wilson, of the French film ‘Nathalie’ written by Anne Fontaine.

Egoyan’s film is such a rich film, with so many qualities. Suspensful? Absolutely!  An edge of your seat film, as much as the best thriller movie. Well crafted? Sure! Egoyan is an auteur; he knows how to drive a film, to bring together all the elements; the performances, the music, the look, the editing…

What struck me most about ‘Chloe’ was how confronting the film was. It was a piercing study of its main character, a deeply psychologically flawed young woman. Also stunning was the portrait of Dr Catherine Stewart, a woman who finds her keenly sort for and cherished professional life deeply threatened.

There were four key performances and they were each brilliant. Julianne Moore, as always, was wonderful. Moore transverses her characters’ torrid journey well, a normally assured woman who finds herself, increasingly, out of her depth, and threatening to lose all vestiges of control.

Amanda Seyfried is striking as the disturbed, manipulative Chloe, who has no qualms in harming anyone as she strives to get her needs met.

As Catherine’s academic husband David Stewart, Liam Neeson plays an insular, indulgent character, who finds his comfortable world and family life rocked to its foundations.

Max Thierlot makes a strong impact in his performance as David and Catherine’s son, Michael, a virtuoso piano player who is going through a difficult adolescence, and finds himself deeply drawn into his parent’s dramas.

‘Chloe’ was a knockout film. I’m still reeling days after having seen it.