Peppered with dialogues like "The whole thing is unacceptable" and "Crossed a line", the trailer for the upcoming film "Adore" scores high on the provocative factor.
"Adore" can be called a sex drama: the characters played by Robin Wright and Naomi Watts are lifelong friends who get sexually involved with each other's surfer-bodied sons. The mothers are seen to be basking in joy for a little while, before the drama that is inevitable with such a liaison strikes. With a little bit of artistic skin show and a few kisses, it's the idea of the film that tantalizes rather than what can be seen in this sneak peek.
The Australian-French film, which is based on a novella, premiered at Sundance this year as "Two Mothers" and has been renamed "Adore" for its release in September in the US. It's directed by Anne Fontaine who made "Coco Before Chanel", and the screenplay is written by Christopher Hampton whose previous credits include "Atonement" and "Dangerous Liaisons".
As seen in the trailer, one review of "Adore" called it, "Provocative and troubling, sensual and scandalous", while others pronounced it to be, "Boundary breaking" and "An incredibly complex love story." A review in Hollywood Reporter was less kind: "Basically, this is tasteful MILF porn," it said.
Speaking with Interview magazine earlier this year, Fontaine said that the friendship of the women should be seen as the focal point of "Adore", rather than their getting it on with each other's sons. "We have to understand what is underneath, what are the feelings, this very incredible friendship these two women have for such a long time. They follow that through their sons, they want to keep that inside their families," she said. The reaction of the viewer to the theme, of course, can't be discounted. "It's not a story where you can stay in your armchair and say, 'Okay,'" said Fontaine. "It needs a reaction. Even if you laugh, it can be because there is irony in the story, but also because you want to protect yourself-to say, 'No, no. That's not possible.'"
