[7]

Naomi Watts and Robin Wright play childhood friends who grew up together and are practically inseparable, even in their 40s. Their young adult sons, played by Xavier Samuel (The Loved Ones) and James Frecheville, are also best friends. The four spend a lot of time together. Their world is kinda claustrophobic, but in the best, most beautiful kind of way living on the ocean in Australia. But then things get kinky. Yes, Adore is the movie about two grown women who have sex with each other’s sons. They all know it’s wrong, but you can almost understand their indiscretion by just looking at the cast. Watts and Wright are the zenith of sexy cougarhood, and the young men strut around in swim trunks on the sand like two ancient Greek statues come to life.

I thought I had Adore figured out: they’d open Pandora’s box, regret it, and have to suffer for their transgressions. But it actually got a little more complicated and less predictable than that, which kept me engaged. I love the cast, the setting, director Anne Fontaine’s atmosphere and austere style, and the see-sawing effect of pining and regret that the movie has going for it.