Adore

I took it as a dare to myself when I decided to watch this movie.  I even debated if I really want to watch it.  I remember watching the trailer a half year ago, and the thought of it, the idea of the film seemed just so twisted and disgusting to me.  But today, out of boredom and curiosity, I decided to give it a go.  I was certain that my moral values would be brought to a new low upon watching this.  I was so sure I would be grossed out by this film.  Turns out, it wasn't as awful as I thought it would be.  Turns out, I really like it.

Adore is a movie about the relationship between a pair of best friends, Lil and Roz (Naomi Watts and Robin Wright) with their respective sons, Ian and Tom (Xavier Samuels and James Frenchville).  The movie is twisted to me because it is beyond Oedipus complex, it is about falling in love with your best friend's son and mother (in Ian and Tom's case).  

After watching it, I came to a few conclusions.  

1. Life is full of improvisations.  Improvise and follow your heart.

We never know what life brings and we can only improvise and follow our hearts.  Lil never thought anything would happen between her and Tom, her best friend's son.  Neither did Roz.  Nor did Tom, nor Ian, I think.  Never had they thought that they would fall for their best friend's mother.  But when things come and feelings hit, we can only take them as they are and try our best to work things out.  Instead of pulling themselves away from one another, and hurting one another (at least at the beginning) the four of them were open about their feelings and tried to work things out, improvising along the way.  Yes, in the middle of the story, they all tried to do what the society deemed 'right' and 'moral', and while doing so, they all got hurt and broken as they wandered off the paths their hearts told them to go.  Life is a series of improvisations, a series of educated and calculated risks.  Our hearts know best what is best for us.

2. Love is destructive.

This is a well-known and widely accepted fact.  But I felt strongly the destructive powers of love when I saw Ian trying to kill himself in the waves.  The forbidden love between him and Roz, the rejection from Roz while he knew well that she still loves him and he still loves her dearly...all of these emotions and frustration led to his attempt to kill himself.  As I watched Xavier Samuels yell at Roz through the door, banging on it, trying to get in, to talk with her; and as I watched Samuels, again yelled at Roz upon finding out that his mother and Tom were continuing on with their relationship, I felt his immense pain and hurt, and the betrayal that was piercing through his body, his soul.  Lil's tears as she learnt that Tom is getting married, and Roz's tears too as she decided to break off with Ian, are heart breaking.  Her tears showed me that, no matter how old one is, no matter how mature one is, to love is to love, and to be heart broken is to be heart broken.  Hannah and Mary were the victims in the twisted tangly relationship between the four main characters.  The love Lil and Tom, Ian and Roz have for each other not only destroyed them, but Hannah and Mary as well.  

3. You can't force love.

The four of them all tried to force love.  Lil and Roz tried to let go of Tom and Ian respectively, to let them live their own lives, start families and be normal.  Ian and Tom forced their love for their best friend's mother away and forced themselves to love the women they found for themselves, Tom to Mary and Ian to Hannah.  However, forcing love doesn't work, and they would never be happy if they continue to force their hearts to love someone they don't.  And it is also unfair to Mary and Hannah.  It all went back to square one in the end, as the characters all let go of what society deemed normal and moral, and by following their true desires, they all achieve true happiness.

The movie is filmed in beautiful Australia and has exquisite scenes and views of the ocean and the waves and the blue blue skies.  It also has the hot bods of the boys and the pretty face of Naomi Watts.  I feel that Xavier Samuels have delivered a superb performance in Adore.  His character, Ian, seems to be the one with the most intense feeling, the most love and the most hurt of the four.  His sorrowful frowns and strained expressions really touched my heart as I was watching the movie and I was deeply moved by his performance.  

Yes, it all still sounds a bit twisted to me, but well, it's love and it's not supposed to make sense nor can you control it, can you?