Adore (2013)

A pair of childhood friends and neighbors fall for each other's sons.

Director:

Anne Fontaine

Writers:

Doris Lessing (novel), Christopher Hampton (screenplay)

Stars:

Naomi Watts, Robin Wright, Ben Mendelsohn

Cast

Credited cast:
Naomi Watts	...	Lil
Robin Wright	...	Roz
Ben Mendelsohn	...	Harold
Xavier Samuel	...	Ian
Sophie Lowe	...	Hannah
James Frecheville	...	Tom
Gary Sweet	...	Saul
Jessica Tovey	...	Mary
Alyson Standen	...	Molly
Charlee Thomas	...	Alice
Dane Eade	...	Surfer lifeguard
Scott Pirlo	...	Assistant
Isaac Cocking	...	Young Tom

Storyline

A pair of childhood friends and neighbors fall for each other's sons.

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Plot Keywords:

friend | best friend | swimming | family relationships | ocean | 

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Genres:

Drama

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sexual content and language

Details

Country:

France Australia

Language:

English

Release Date:

2013 (Australia)

Also Known As:

Two Mothers

Filming Locations:

Balmain, Sydney, New South Wales, Australia

Box Office

Budget:

$16,000,000 (estimated)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Gaumont, Screen Australia, Ciné@

Technical Specs

Runtime:

100 min

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Soundtracks

"The Haunted Ocean 1"
Written & Performed by Max Richter

User Reviews

A Superb Chick Flick for Grannies!

This lovely movie was based on Doris Lessing's short story "The Grandmothers". I just saw the premiere at Sundance and absolutely loved it. Supposedly inspired by a true story, it's about two mothers who really like their son's best friend (their best friend's son) And that tag line is what you'll hear all about. Oh, the horror. I imagine middle age male reviewers will not particularly like this movie, though gay men will most likely love it. But it's a film about women--their friendships, husbands, relationships, sons and lovers. It's directed by Anne Fontaine, a French woman (which explains the exorbitant number of scenes with smoking cigarettes, and an insanely un-American story concept that young men might be attracted to older women.)

It's beautifully crafted (gorgeous cinematography) and has intelligent editing (watch for the skillful matched cuts that "age" the characters). The performances are all around great. Robin Wright is amazing--it's an Oscar caliber performance, however, the film probably won't get a large enough release to be on the radar for awards (sort of like poor John Hawkes not getting nominated for "The Sessions", what was the Academy thinking?) Of course, setting the movie in Australia means the other main character is the location. Tanned surfing teenage boys with model-beautiful mothers in bikinis, cowabunga mate (and significantly less handsome husbands and admirers, thankfully not shown in Speedos.)

There was laughter in the screening in places unexpected by the director, but this was probably just anxious laughter by viewers unaccustomed to thinking about middle aged women having sexual and emotional interest in younger men. Actually, I felt the laughter lightened up the viewing experience, and made the characters more human (okay, so I laughed and cried in this movie, but I never laughed at it.) At almost every story point where an expected turn would happen (if following Hollywood development script notes) the writer took what I call the "elegant decision" and pleasantly surprised me.

This is all around superb filmic story telling. Brilliant performances, intelligent and gentle direction, spectacular scenery, highly professional technical craftsmanship, and (for most of us, I expect) new emotional territory. It's a great film. I truly hope you get to see it.