MovieChat Forums > Chloe (2010) Discussion > ...all that Glass: MAJOR SPOILERS

...all that Glass: MAJOR SPOILERS

posted 8 years ago by JackBluegrass
3 replies | jump to latest

This must be director Atom Egoyan's tribute to Douglas Sirk.

German director Sirk came to Hollywood and made some of the greatest and most emotional RomComs of the 1950s

("Magnificent Obsession", and especially "All that Heaven Allows" plus "Imitation of Life").

To see how a master director and cinematographer worked, watch one of those movies.

Sirk's trademark was all the mirrors he employed in filming. Scenes included reflections on mirrors strategically placed on the sets (or, on a TV set turned off!) within homes.

In Chloe, almost every Egoyan scene has window glass or mirrors (store fronts, bedrooms, restrooms, restaurants, telephone booths, botanical gardens) placed strategically. Scenes are filmed through window glass. How does Chloe die? She falls backward out of what looks like a broken ceiling-to-floor window in a bedroom (technically ridiculous window construction, but an emotionally symbolic death).

The main problem that both Egoyan and Sirk had was to prevent reflections of the filming crew from showing in all those mirrors!

E pluribus unum

[–] NeedysBoy 8 years ago

One of Sirk's influences was Panofsky -- good to know.

Thanks for posting!

By the way, I think Pasolini was an influence on Chloe too.

 Celebrating 100 Years of DADA * Feb. 5, 1916 * Zurich

[–] JackBluegrass 8 years ago

NeedysBoy, thanks for the info on Erwin Panofsky. I was not aware of that. Detlef Sierck (or, anglicized Sirk) had a strong background in the arts and sciences which enhanced his filmmaking.

IIRC, in the ending credits of Chloe, there is a statement that Chloe is a remake of Anne Fontaine's French film, Nathalie (2003).

E pluribus unum

[–] TreeShaman (806) 4 years ago

Exotica also has many scenes with glass and two way mirrors.