Adore

Over the years, attending various movie screenings with a packed house, I’ve witnessed a lot of reactions that seemed, then and now, a bit unfair. The most memorable event was the screening for Splice, a story about two scientists playing God, creating a life form, and then allowing their humanity to interfere with the upbringing of this life form. A lot of people were upset when Adrian Brody, one of the scientists, ended up having an intimate moment with the life form. As taboo as that moment was I really felt it was not but a harsh truth about the way the human mind has been formed over the years by idea’s that sit outside of the moral lines that we claim to hold so dear. Adore uses that same kind of mind set to cover a taboo like relationship between to mothers, best friends, who decide to begin heated relationships with one another’s grown sons. 

 

Naomi Watts (King Kong) and Robin Wright (House of Cards) play two best friends, Lil and Roz, who have grown together and raised their sons as brothers. Roz, who is married, ends up being seduced by her feelings for Lil’s son Ian and in turn kind of sows the seeds which leads to Roz’s son Tom engaging in a sexual relationship with Lil. 

 

I think if you’re watching the film just to be entertained in a mindless fashion you’ll more then likely find yourself drawn to a dark place. This is after all the story of two young men and two older women, as close as mother and son on both accounts, who end up starting intimate relationships with one another. 

 

I think this is a great case study type film that looks at a subject most people wouldn’t even have on their mind, but whose structure offers up the subject without resorting to making a film based solely on the sexual aspect. The film rather looks at the human condition, loneliness, jealousy, differing levels of maturity, and the often times misunderstood or rarely outlined perception of older women. Their desire, their wisdom, and even their destructive capabilities as they maneuver, and sometimes stumble, through a society that has laid the ground rules for both being a woman and laying the standards for being an older woman in a world that has set stock in the young and beautiful. 

 

Most definitely not an easy film for all to traverse, but with a stellar cast and a seasoned filming hand, Adore winds up being a film that handles it’s subject material in a non-obtrusive way, leaving several facets of the subject material to be analyzed by the viewer as it progresses. 

 

PICTURE QUALITY:

All in all not a bad transfer. There is some grain and some environmental hiccups, but all together the BD falls just shy of being reference. I was really surprised by the clarity that really brings texture to life like quality. This really helps immerse you in the world of the film and the moments of the film.

 

BONUS FEATURES:

UV/DIGITAL Copies