Adore

Cast: Naomi Watts, Robin Wright, Xavier Samuel
Director: Anne Fontaine

I’d like to think that we’re no strangers to relationships with considerable age gaps. We see it on television, and in movies, and in other people’s lives. Some may be in this kind of relationship. Adore plays no stranger to the concept, and is one of those films that capitalize on the relationship. However, I think that the movie took the concept to a different level, becoming a movie that is unusual in a familial aspect. I personally don't approve of the film’s concept, but after seeing the overall picture, I’d like to think it was beyond that strange situation that the characters were put in, and somewhere through all that mess, is something that was done tastefully and was made to captivate its viewers.

Lil and Roz were the best of friends who grew up side by side. They lived in the same vicinity, and had been through most things together. Even when they were married and had their children (Ian and Tom), they were still together. The film forwards to when their children were older, and through being together, Lil and Roz has managed to forge a bond with their own sons. The whole spectacle began when Ian and Roz randomly launched an affair, and being caught by Tom, Tom has reciprocated by doing the same with Lil. 

The first minutes in, I could have launched a lot of criticisms against the mothers and their sons and the whole situation (and probably get into a lengthy discussion), but the movie doesn't give us time to do that. Lil and Roz, realizing what they have done, at first tried to stop it, but the sexual chemistry was unnerving, and soon, both were at it again. We meet the women again, this time, discussing like mature adults, their thoughts and feelings about their affairs. There was no judgment from their part, and definitely nothing from their own sons, but the two had made a promise that when they know it’s over, it will be over. 

There were a lot of twists and turns with the story, some predictable and some were not. However, what attaches the viewer to the film is not the strangeness of the story, but partly, the acting that goes with it. Naomi Watts and Robin Wright performed splendidly, playing their characters with conviction. There was never an inch of regret with their characters, up until the end, which I think was rather poetic, as it can be interpreted in many ways. Samuel and Frecheville posed as good partners for Watts and Wright, but I was taken in more by the relationship between Roz and Ian, as I’d thought there was something more than sexual chemistry. Despite the turmoil of the relationship, their “spark”, lacking for a better word, never disappeared. The whole concept of this film was something difficult to grasp, but I found myself rooting for Roz and Ian, as they were written less of the mother-and-friend’s son relationship, but more of real people with emotions. 

It helps that the movie was set in a gorgeous backdrop (I wouldn’t mind living there, its paradise!), and the cinematography was great. It was hard to tear my eyes off the screen, as even if the whole movie was strange, it was beautiful. The sullen scenes, the view of the ocean, Christophe Beaucarne managed to present an unusual concept in a beautiful setting. The scenes were also written in a way that it didn't take the interpretation way too far for distaste and make the movie appear to be trashy. 

The movie has been receiving a lot of negative feedback, so it’s an unpopular opinion to say that I did enjoy it. I’m still not for the whole concept of the movie, and I want to say that they’re insane, but the film has a way of reeling you in. Beneath all that really, is a turmoil relationship between two sets of couples that, are in the same circumstances, but are approaching their relationship in a different stance. It’s clearly not for everyone, but this film has to give credit to the cast and crew involved for making something strange worth seeing.