Guy meets girl. Girl likes guy. Guy likes girl, but not as much. Also, Guy is married with kids. Guy breaks it off. Girl goes insane. This plot line, as seen in film from Fatal Attraction to Obsessed, has found it's latest expression in Chloe. What's the unique draw? In this case, the guy is Julianne Moore.

Chloe tells the tale of Catherine, an aging, lonely woman, who feels her marriage slipping away. Her professor husband David (Liam Neeson) is often away and their multi decade marriage has grown cold. Suspecting him of extra-martial dalliance with one of his students, Catherine decides the only logical step is to hire a prostitute to seduce him. Enter Chloe, portrayed by Amanda Seyfried of Mean Girls fame (she was the dumb one).

Seyfried's Chloe is an intelligent, manipulative, and detached sex worker who regales Catherine with tales of her clandestine meetings with her husband. While Catherine is repulsed and appalled, a part of her is aroused by the vivid retellings (conveyed to the viewer in flashback format with Chloe's voice narrating). Partly for her own sake, and partly as revenge, Catherine has her own fling with the seductress. Chaos ensues.

The story appears straight forward, but there are enough interesting twists and turns to provide a unique take on this familiar tale. All the performances are realistic and believable, with the exception of Max Thieriot as the couple's rebellious teenage son. As a side note, the most believable part of the film was the teenager's ability not to look a gift horse in the mouth when presented with a curiously attracted, model-looking stalker. Moore does a fantastic job portraying the vulnerability and emotional neediness of Catherine. But the real star is Seyfried, who easily and subtly transforms from an enrapturing beauty to a discomforting psychopath.

The film is set in upscale Toronto, which lent the environments an almost futuristic style. I spent a good portion of the film simply admiring the surroundings. The direction, while nothing exceptional, was understated and focused on the characters and dialogue through frequent closeups and scarce movement. Chloe is a retread that avoids being tedious. Solid performances all around coupled with a few unexpected twists result in a great way to spend 96 minutes.