Adore (2013) is a drama directed by Anne Fontaine and based on the 2003 novella The Grandmothers written by Doris Lessing. The film centres on the friendship of Roz (Robin Wright) and Lil (Naomi Watts), two middle-aged women.
They are life-long friends and have teenage sons. One day they fall in love with each other’s teenage sons. For fear of publicity and condemnation, they are forced to hide their feelings for several years. However, all secrets sooner or later come to light.
When information about the quartet’s troubled relationship becomes public, it not only threatens to destroy the lives of the two friends but also puts their sons before a difficult choice. From the very beginning, the film has caused very contradictory feelings among viewers and critics.
There was a lot of outrage! And I think it’s not about the screenplay itself, but more about the subject matter, which could be called scandalous. Forbidden love, attraction, incestuous desires. The film tackles different moral issues.
Adore has beautiful landscapes
Credit: Gaumont
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One of the highlights of this film is, for sure, the beautiful landscapes. Adore was filmed in New South Wales and Sydney, and there are many beach scenes. Perhaps the director’s aim was also to show the contrast between all the depravity of the relationship between the two women and their sons and what they experience.
The idyllic coastal town with beautiful beaches and dark, secret obsessions… Can such a relationship be happy, or is it doomed? After all, both Roz and Lil have made their sons unhappy because of their passion.
After learning that their husbands had affairs with their mothers-in-law, their wives leave them and take their children with them. The last scene of the film in which Roz, Lil, and their sons lie on a wooden pier in the middle of the ocean seems happy and harmonious, but the viewer wonders how long this supposed happiness will last. And isn’t Roz and Lil’s behaviour selfish? Maybe they all deserve something better than this strange relationship.
It’s also a story of friendship
Credit: Gaumont
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Another thin line runs through the storyline of the two friends’ relationship. Perhaps the foursome’s sensual intimacy began with this lifelong female friendship. Or, perhaps, such a novel, in general, is based on friendship and the secret attraction of girlfriends to each other.
After all, each of the young men is an extension of each of the girlfriends. The theme of living in an age of crisis also sounds very bright and sharp. As Robin Wright’s heroine well says to her friend when they are still looking at an old photo album at the very beginning of the film:
Time flies, but I think we’re attractive now because we’ve shaped up in every way.
Not 50-year-old grandmothers, but women who have the right to feel, female joys, in a life full of passions and experiences. The director of the film does not condemn the characters and does not put points, but only gives slight ambivalent hints.
As in life, every human choice has two sides. Having decided on such a relationship, Roz and Lil felt happier, on the other hand, they live in fear that someday they will grow old, and both Ian and Tom will choose younger women. That’s what eventually happened.
Adore has a very provocative plot
Credit: Gaumont
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Having given up on relationships with older men, the girlfriends found themselves ensnared in their fantasies and practically ruined each other’s sons’ lives. On the other hand, in these moments, they were happy.
They enjoyed every moment spent with the young men. Despite all the provocativeness of the plot, the tragedy, and the abundance of bed scenes, Anne Fontaine’s film is surprisingly graceful, romantic and light.
Yes, this movie is still not for a live casino online party or a romantic evening, but this movie gives the viewer a wonderful opportunity to philosophize about the meaning of life, human selfishness, and the serious consequences people’s choices can sometimes have.
Just a strong passion and a forbidden romance can ruin and turn several people’s lives upside down, while giving people a sense of youth and youthfulness. And can a relationship like the one in the movie have a future? Or are they built on selfishness and the desire to prolong one’s youth?
Another question is, is this fleeting sense of broken lives and drama worth it? It is up to the viewer to answer that question.
What do you make of this review? Are you going to watch Adore or not? Let us know your thoughts in the comments below.
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