Irresistible

I was pleasantly surprised by "Irresistible", which turned out to be a deftly made thriller with just enough twists and turns to keep the viewer guessing. Some were a bit more predictable than others, and others really came from left field and will likely be the dividing point on this one, but it was a surprisingly enjoyable view. What seems to begin as a genre piece leaning heavily on the excellent 1940's films "Gaslight" really mentally becomes three different parallel story lines. The questions that stick in your mind throughout much of the film and offer those three simultaneous scenarios are due to a first rate performance by Susan Sarandon. A lesser actress would have been a complete embarrassment in this film, but her no holds barred presence builds up what could have been a little throwaway flick.

Susan Sarandon goes "slumming" in Australia and comes up with a pretty nifty thriller, IRRESISTIBLE. She plays a mom and wife and professional artist who begins to imagine things. She hears voices after her mother dies. Doors open and close of their own accord. Family photos disappear. An elderly neighbor swears someone dressed like Sarandon has been going in and out of her house! Changing the locks doesn't appear to help, and hubby Sam Neill is less than sympathetic. The solution comes at us unexpectedly, but then the writer or director decides to take it for one more turn -- at which point I was crying, "Enough!" It comes to A LIFETIME-type conclusion. Sarandon makes the film. Without her edgy performance as the aging, distraught mother, IRRESISTIBLE would be absolutely nothing. Neil is just window dressing.

IRRESISTIBLE is a little film from Australia with big ideas and a clumsy script. The story itself is good with enough variation from the usual thriller scripts to make it enjoyable, but the writing borders on improvisation and doesn't provide the motivation for the development of the story to flow smoothly enough to maintain the credibility of the characters.

Set in contemporary Melbourne, Australia, the story begins in media res with our heroine Sophie (Susan Sarandon), a successful illustrator, wife of an equally important architect (Sam Neill), and mother to two little girls, hearing noises and finding odd incidents. Recovering from the death of her beloved mother and caring for her grieving father (Charles 'Bud' Tingwell), Sophie's stress factor is further heightened by the fact that she has a block about the illustrations for a book whose deadline is nearing. Her husband is supportive and encourages her to get away from her problems by attending a party given by a new associate of his at the firm - the bright and beautiful Mara (Emily Blunt) - who just happens to be wearing the same new dress Sophie has purchased for the party. The two meet, dance together, drink together, but innuendos have started: party guests offer condolences for her mothers death but also suggest she join AA for her 'drinking problem'.

Sophie's mind continues to fragment as she imagines she is being stalked by Mara because of events that happen in her house, with her wardrobe, and with paranoia that her husband and Mara are having an affair. She decides to observe Mara closely, discovering facts that feed her paranoia, and is caught in Mara's house - and arrested. From there the story disintegrates into revelation of facts that border on melodrama with ill-defined motivations marring every scene. To reveal the ultimate nidus for the story's plot would rob the viewer of what little surprises there are here.

Ann Turner could have used a script doctor before shooting this film, as the story is fine: it is just clumsy and not finessed. But once again Susan Sarandon proves she is such a fine actress that she can pull off even a spotty script and create a credible character. Sam Neill and Emily Blunt likewise do the best with what they are given with lines and direction. This is not a bad movie at all, just one that needed a bit of surgery before placing it on the screen, and the film is well worth watching for Sarandon fans. She still is one of our finest actresses on the screen today. Grady Harp

Despite what the previous reviewer said this is a very good film. The excellent globally known actors ( Sarandon and Neill ) portray their characters with subtle, very believable nuance and the virtual newcomer Emily Blunt plays off them like a seasoned vet. With great actors in place all you need is a good story to flesh out and this one hits the mark. Is Sarandon paranoid or is something or someone really unraveling her life, marriage and sense of what's real ? The trip to what happens is worth every second on screen and the ending not only has a twist but a second subtle and more mysterious twist right at the end that turns your first conclusions upside down. This film is well set up for a sequel (which I doubt will happen due to its release straight to video in the U.S>) but also stands very well on its own. Emily Blunt is a new actress with great talent and will surely become a big name once her work gets more exposure. The movie is well worth seeing if for nothing else than its very unique unresolved double twist ending.

With a messy script and quite tedious pacing, this film doesn't really work. Sam Neill and Susan Sarandon do their best with desperately underwritten parts and Emily Blunt feels at times wasted in the role and at other times very miscast. The whole adds up to a waste of your time if you take the risk of watching it. You have been warned.