Laura (Evan Rachel Wood) works as a house cleaner for her father's company but her personal life is not so pristine. Rough around the edges, looking for love in all the wrong places, her heartbreaking behavior points to hardships of the past. One day on the job, in yet another house, Laura meets Eva (Julia Sarah Stone), a quiet teenager unhappy with her disciplined life. In Eva, Laura rediscovers an innocent tenderness. In Laura, Eva finds a thrilling rebel who can bring her into unknown territories. The mutual attraction soon morphs into obsession as Laura convinces Eva to run away and secretly come live with her, perilously raising the stakes for the young, impressionable girl as Laura's emotional instability becomes increasingly clear. As their world closes in, they must unearth certain truths to find a way out.
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The filmmakers seem less concerned with telling a story than in convincing the audience (and maybe themselves) that they can handle this provocative and potentially exploitive material ... with what's conventionally considered "appropriate" sensitivity.
Brothers Carlos and Jason Sanchez, who wrote and directed this intriguing film, may or may not reveal why Laura is so self-destructive, but viewers open to exploring her disturbing behavior will find this daring film compelling.
I suppose there are worse things for a film to be than an educational conversation starter. However, Allure is a difficult, and ultimately, an unsatisfying watch as a film.
This is an exquisite portrait of human suffering. Particularly for first-time writer/directors the film is a marvel, a brilliant objet d'art that is incredibly unpleasant to watch.
