Irresistible (2006)

Irresistible feels a little disjointed at certain points, but it is ultimately a successful thriller. The story revolves around a children’s book illustrator, Sophie Hartley (Susan Sarandon), her husband Craig (Sam Neil), and his new Coworker at his firm, Mara (Emily Blunt). The couple goes to a party hosted by Mara and her husband, only to find that Mara and Sophie wore the exact same dress, seemingly by coincidence. They befriend the lonely Mara at the party, and she becomes a constant presence in the family's life. Before the party, Sophie starts to feel like someone is stalking her. She experiences small changes in her house, like swearing she left the iron on, only to find it still warm and unplugged hours after she realized her mistake, she notices a missing dress, only for it to reappear in her closet days later. Her paranoia is only compounded by a looming deadline for her next set of children’s book illustrations, which she loses sleep over, which might be the cause of her fragile mental state.

Writer/Director Ann Turner attempts to walk a line between three different thrillers in one movie, with some success. The film starts as a very good psychological thriller, but it’s hard to tell whether Sophie is being stalked or if it’s all in her head due to lack of sleep and stress. The film continues as a middling Single White Female-style thriller, where it becomes increasingly obvious that Mara has an infatuation with Sophie and may be trying to replace her in her family’s lives. There’s also the constant paranoia in the single white female section, where Sophie is caught breaking into Mara’s home to search for her missing dress and other clues to implicate Mara in stalking. This all culminates in a dramatic finale where Mara attempts to kill Sophie and take her children away after trying to seduce Craig simultaneously.

The end of the film is where the balancing act of several different thriller tropes falls flat, adding not one, but two twists to the finale. Sophie discovers, while accidentally locked in Mara’s basement, the papers from an adoption agency claiming that Mara is Sophie’s daughter that she put up for adoption in her early 20s. The two women come together and forgive each other once the familial connection is revealed, even after a tense fire scene where Sophie saves Mara despite her trying to kill her moments earlier. After the reconnection and sappy confessions of why Sophie gave Mara up for adoption, we were lulled into a false sense of security in thinking Mara is getting the psychological help she needs and will hopefully not try to set Sophie on fire anymore.

This film would have been ok with this ending, but there is an ominous twist at the very end of the film that reveals that maybe Mara didn’t just try to replace Sophie, but perhaps she replaced the actual daughter of Sophie, with whom she lived at the orphanage growing up. Ultimately, this final twist is the best part of the film for me after the plot switched out of psychological thriller mode. The film itself is an average thriller from the early 2000s; it’s not incredible, but the performance from Sarandon makes this film worth watching. Irresistible is a thriller that goes down easily, and I would give a soft recommendation.

Vital Disc Stats: Region Free Blu-ray 
This release includes a region-free Blu-ray housed in a clear case, along with a booklet of production notes and essays. The artwork is the original poster for the film.

This film looks fine. In 1080p, there was no restoration of this film, and the result shows. The release is not entirely crisp and clear. I noticed in the opening credits that the lettering had some blurring around the edges of the words, and throughout the film, it seems to be slightly out of focus. The cinematography of this film is good, especially where the greens of the suburban lawns and trees really pop, as do the reds of Sophie/Mara’s dresses throughout the film. Ultimately, the visuals of this release are not the best but are serviceable and don’t take away from the enjoyment of the film.

The audio from this release is also average but serviceable, presented in DTS-HD MA 5.1; the sound comes out clear, and you can hear the dialogue perfectly. The only issue is the mixing of the score and other diegetic music in the film. During transition scenes, it’s like the volume for the score is double that of the usual scenes. It’s fine that this happens, in future releases I would mix the sound to be more equal with the music. Other than those minor gripes, this is a serviceable release.

The supplements are also solid but average. This release includes a video essay on trying to find the locations where Irresistible was shot, which is somewhat entertaining but not the best. The behind-the-scenes featurette is solid as well. There is also a booklet of production notes, which is illuminating on the making of the film. Ultimately, I think these supplements are more for the Irresistible fanatic, which may exist somewhere.

• Audio Commentary with Writer/Director Ann Turner and Producer Sue Maslin
• IRRESISTIBLE Location Shoot with Paul Hagl (17:02)
• Behind the Scenes featurette with cast and crew (11:40)
• Trailer (1:00)

This release of Irresistible from Umbrella Entertainment is worth the money, specifically if you’re a fan of Australian cinema and run-of-the-mill thrillers. The movie itself plays out like a made-for-TV thriller with a great cast. The director Ann Turner tries to combine several different thriller subgenres into one story, which at some points works, but mostly leaves the story jumbled and confusing at times. The performances are good, especially by Sarandon, who keeps the audience guessing if she’s being stalked or if she’s losing her mind.  This release is solid as well. The supplements could be a little better, but fans of this movie might find it interesting. The AV of this release is serviceable but not incredible, not terrible either; the sound and visual shortcomings don’t detract from the viewing experience.  I would lightly recommend this release; the movie is worth seeing, and this release is solid. Worth A Look