Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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13 of 13 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
The Hurdles Susan Sarandon Can Overcome, April 20, 2006
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 innuendoes 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, April 06
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6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Good Movie - Bad Title, August 17, 2006
This is a really good movie that deserved to get more publicity and reach a wider audience. And it deserved a better title. "Irresistible" is misleading. The descriptive blurb on the DVD cover is similarly misleading. Contrary to what these summaries imply, it's immediately apparent that this movie isn't simply about the possibility that some crazed ex-boyfriend is stalking a woman. We realize that something more complex is going on here. The tension starts to build almost from the opening scenes as Susan Sarandon begins to get the uneasy feeling that someone is in her house, that someone is in fact invading her house on a regular basis, stealing small items, leaving deadly little twists as tokens of having been there.
Is she imagining this? Have the pressures of her work as book illustrator, with deadlines to meet and repressed memories to dredge up - started to unbalance her?
The viewer is kept guessing. Along the way though, we are taken into the life of a truly decent mother and wife. For once, it is heartening to keep company with a featured mother. She is fun and a true friend to her children and husband, without abdicating her role as responsible adult.
This is a well-written movie, done in the classic tradition of mystery/thrillers. All the loose ends get tied up and whatever twists there are along the way play fair with the audience. And as ever, Susan Sarandon has a compelling screen presence. Anything she's in HAS to be good.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
STRANGE LITTLE THRILLER, May 11, 2006
IRRESISTIBLE is a strange little thriller, filmed in Australia with Susan Sarandon and Sam Neill in the leading roles. The sometimes clever, sometimes implausible, script finds Neill's new assistant (Emily Blunt in a seductive performance) trying to take over Sarandon's life--and Neill in the process.
Starting with minor things like taking dresses, pictures, etc., it mushrooms into a more dangerous threat. Credit the writers for coming up with a clever twist as to Blunt's true identity.
Sarandon doesn't give one of her best performances, but she's a pro and makes the most of her role, while Neill plays the suffering husband adequately.
Overall, I found it entertaining.
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