Adore

Australian Adventures in MILF-sitting. The jokes about someone’s “Outback” almost write themselves. One cannot help but note that this film very much stacks its deck. The scenario couldn’t possibly play out if the women in question were not of the order of leads Naomi watts and Robin Wright. (Fun fact: Watts is only 11 days older than your correspondent.) As it is, this tale is heavily informed as a narrative about wealthy, unbothered, Pretty Perfect PeopleTM, and thus it follows that the story seems to lack a certain amount of universality—that thing that is a hallmark of all truly great stories (if not all art). Given that perspective, I struggle to come to a conclusion about the value of this movie. The actions of the characters come across as somewhat natural, even if also reprehensible. Yes, there are consequences of the actions, but it is debatable—and the film implies this—whether or not those (rather late-arriving) negative consequences are true deal-breakers. Apart from critical analysis of the narrative, one cannot help but at least report that the performances are very good, particularly the female leads. Watching this 2013 film some 13 years later adds to the sense that these middle-aged women are even further out of bounds for the younger actors than they actually were at the time of filming. And, of course, one must recognize that there's a certain amount of female wish fulfillment under-girding this story. Also, the Australian settings—particularly the beach scenes—provide at least as much visual appeal as the famously good-looking actresses. It’s a tough call; if you’re really into stories about complex interpersonal dynamics, you may find this film right up your alley. If not, at least you get a glimpse of the lives of the other (substantially less than) half.