Alliance/Ego. Director Atom Egoyan; Producer Camelia Frieberg, Atom Egoyan; Writer Atom Egoyan; Camera Paul Sarossy Editor Susan Shipton; Music Mychael Danna Art Linda Del Rosario, Richard Paris
Elias Koteas
Arsinee Khanjian
Maury Chaykin
Gabrielle Rose
Jennifer Dale
David Hemblen
In an escalating quest for eccentricity, Atom Egoyan's analysis of voyeurism is becoming profoundly shallow. Trying to streamline his radical and visionary Family Viewing, his follow-up pic Speaking Parts xeroxed the theme and polished the images but lost its edge in the process. Ditto for The Adjuster, with its cast of superbly photographed, eclectic characters who take an aimless walk on the wild side.
Noah (Elias Koteas), an insurance adjuster, is a wedded philanderer who exploits the vulnerability of female clients who've lost their homes to fires. His mate Hera (played by Egoyan's mate, Arsinee Khanjian) is a film censor who secretly videotapes porn flicks for her sister Sete (Rose Sarkisyan), a matron with betwixt desires.
These frigid spouses rent their model home to a couple (Maury Chaykin, Gabrielle Rose) who stiffly stage their sexual fantasies in absurd and eventually violent acts. Their characters have potential that the script never develops.
At no point does the viewer ever gain in-depth knowledge of any character in the film. Visuals are gorgeous.
(Color) Widescreen. Available on VHS, DVD. Extract of a review from 1991. Running time: 102 MIN.
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