Can a provocative drama about forbidden love transcend its own controversial, melodramatic premise?
In short: Directed by Anne Fontaine, the 2013 film Adoration explores the complex emotional fallout when two lifelong friends begin affairs with each other's teenage sons. Based on a Doris Lessing novella, the movie features powerhouse performances from Naomi Watts and Robin Wright, sparking intense debate over its narrative and thematic ambitions.
The film, also known as Adore and Perfect Mothers, follows Roz and Lil, two neighbors in New South Wales whose close bond takes a transgressive turn. After Roz’s husband, Harold, prepares to move to Sydney for work, a series of impulsive encounters leads both women into long-term sexual relationships with their best friend's son. Despite initial attempts to stop, the couples find themselves unable to break the cycle, eventually leading to years of deception that persist even after the sons marry and have children of their own.
Critical reception has been sharply divided. While some reviewers, such as Damon Wise of The Guardian, praised the film as a provocative masterclass in acting, others found the plot absurd and unbelievable. Rotten Tomatoes reports a 33% approval rating, with a consensus suggesting that even the committed performances of Watts and Wright struggle to ground the story's more melodramatic elements. Metacritic reflects this generally unfavorable sentiment, assigning the film an average score of 37 out of 100.
Beyond the surface-level controversy, critics like Christy Lemire have interpreted the film as a form of decadent fantasy. She suggests the narrative functions as a commentary on the desire for women in their 40s to assert their identity and vitality beyond the traditional roles of wife and mother. Whether viewed as an enjoyably shallow exercise or a bold exploration of independence, the film remains a polarizing entry in Fontaine’s filmography, ultimately culminating in a final, ambiguous return to the status quo for the four protagonists.
The production utilized the coastal landscapes of New South Wales, including Seal Rocks and Sugarloaf Point Lighthouse, to establish the isolated, intimate world of the characters. By the time the truth is revealed to the sons' wives, the damage to their families is absolute, leaving the original quartet to navigate the consequences of their choices in the same setting where their lives first became irrevocably intertwined.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Adoration (2013 film)
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