Director: Anne Fontaine Drama / Romance

Adore is an atypical love story: two women, lifelong friends, fall in love with one anothers sons. Touching, heartfelt, empathetic and provocative, the film details the two tumultuous romances as they develop and progress through the characters lives. Directed by Anne Fontaine (Coco Avant Chanel) and adapted from nobel prize winning author Doris Lessing’s novella ‘The Grandmothers’ by academy award winning screenwriter Christopher Hampton.

Roz (Robin Wright) and Lil (Naomi Watts) have been best friends since their school years. Seemingly inseparable, their lives have taken on many parallels: college, marriage, starting a family at the same time, and giving birth to sons. Living steps from one another on a picturesque beach in Australia, the families have grown up together; each woman acting as a second mother to the others’ son, and the sons, naturally becoming as close to one another as their mothers. That is, until Ian (Xavier Samuel) reveals his romantic feelings for Roz. With her marriage under pressure, Roz surrenders to her best friend’s son’s advances and an affair begins. The relationship becomes further complicated when Tom (James Frecheville) discovers the adulterous affair between his mother and best friend, and decides to even the score by making an advance on widowed Liz. Thus the pair of mothers and sons embark on taboo and unconventional romances.

This overwhelmingly passionate and tender love story navigates the potential pitfalls of the characters’ circumstances, piercing through social discomfort to the essence of the relationships: the sacrificing and unconditional love of a mother adapted to the role of a lover, and the degree to which one’s happiness can be dictated by social norms.

The performances are expert. Watts and Wright are particularly exceptional: their roles could easily be described as highlights of their careers. Newcomers Xavier Samuel (The Twilight Saga: Eclipse) and James Frecheville (Animal Kingdom) are not left behind. The score and cinematography are seamless, working in tandem to accentuate the dreamlike ambiance of the film while the beauty of the setting pulls the audience into the fairytale romance.

Astrid Handling