Chloe is an erotic thriller with a difference. The movie is directed by Atom Egoyan (Adoration), headlining an all-star cast with Liam Neeson, Julianne Moore and Amanda Seyfried. The movie poster and single name title may have echoes of Lolita, but the story follows a more traditional erotic thriller formula with the classic love triangle.

David Stewart (Neeson), a respectable professor and married man, misses a flight and an unexpected surprise party back home. An incriminating photo and some unusual activity causes his wife Catherine (Moore) to suspect David of cheating on her with one of his students. She hires a prostitute named Chloe (Seyfried) to test the waters with her husband by creating some opportunities for the man to be led astray.

The plot devices may remind you of films like Elegy with Ben Kingsley, in which another academic gets involved with a muse. The setup is fairly predictable in most of these films, but Chloe has a sting at the end of her tail. While Chloe is far superior to Obsessed in terms of cast and cinematography, it doesn't have the heat or thrills to compare with genre-defining contemporaries like Fatal Attraction or Basic Instinct. Amanda Seyfried plays an uncharacteristic role on the back of sweetheart characters in Mamma Mia!, Letters to Juliet and Dear John. Although, she did give us some idea of her capabilities in Jennifer's Body.

Atom Egoyan delivers a fairly straight erotic thriller, and apart from a twist, the only really noticeable difference is the caliber of the ensemble and the beautiful cinematography. The movie is almost entirely dominated by the big three in Neeson, Moore and Seyfried, apart from a small supporting role from Max Thieriot as their son Michael. There are several sex scenes and Chloe revels in the sensual side of eroticism using words just as dexteriously as visuals to capture the essence.

Perhaps the genre has been too well-defined for Egoyan's more luscious take to truly catch fire, or maybe the acclaimed director preferred to play it safe. Either way, Chloe comes across as a well-executed, yet fairly tame erotic thriller. It's a solid effort and enjoyable for the cast's chemistry, the director's ambitions and the clever twist - but doesn't threaten the intellect of Elegy, the danger of Fatal Attraction or the fire of Basic Instinct - making it a middle-of-the-range erotic thriller.

The bottom line: Good.