Closer
3/4
Starring: Jude Law, Natalie Portman, Clive Owen, Julia Roberts
Rated R for Sequences of Graphic Sexual Dialogue, Nudity/Sexuality and Language
They say that honesty is the best policy, and I suppose that in most cases it is. Not for the people in "Closer." For Dan, Larry, Alice and Anna, it causes more problems than it's worth. A lot of misery could have been spared all around had they been willing to live down a lie or two. But then since they all hate themselves for being the most selfish people on the face of the earth, maybe not.
"Closer" tells the story of two couples: Dan (Law) & Alice (Portman) and Larry (Owen) and Anna (Roberts). Initially, both couples are happy, but for various reasons sparks begin to fly between the opposites of each pair. Thus begins a four-year odyssey where couples change and change back and every good person turns rotten.
If there is a movie with a more cynical point of view on love and sex, I haven't seen it. This is a story where words are a form of violence, sex is a weapon and emotions are weaknesses to be exploited to get back at someone else. Each character in this movie dishes out and receives a lot of pain and suffering, but no one earns much sympathy for their actions. They all reap what they sow.
"Closer" is a downer and not a pleasant experience. What makes the film compulsively watchable is the high level of acting. But considering that the cast includes Jude Law, Natalie Portman, Clive Owen and Julia Roberts, is this really surprising? Leading the pack is Clive Owen, whose portrayal of a cuckolded husband turned cold manipulator is riveting. At the beginning of the film, Larry is a stand up guy (more or less...at least when compared to the others). But when he is betrayed by Anna for a weasel like Dan, he schemes to take back what is his, or at least spoil it for his nemesis. Julia Roberts, normally such a sunny and charismatic actress, does a very good job playing a woman who is so weak that she can't decide between either man and is oblivious to the pain that it causes She took the role over from Cate Blanchett who had to drop out due to pregnancy, but she makes it her own (still, I would have loved to see her in this role). Natalie Portman is quite good as the innocent who is corrupted by the toxic people around her. This was her first truly adult role and while she certainly sheds her child star image, she's been better elsewhere. The weak link is Jude Law. He's certainly not bad as the guy who uses people without a thought and is surprised when the tables are turned, but he has his flat moments.
It is obvious that the film is based on a play (which at one point starred Clive Owen in the role of Dan). "Closer" exists on dialogue and acting alone. There is no real action or, surprisingly, any real sexual activity. There is, however, plenty of explicit dialogue about sex that is shockingly frank. But the graphic nature of the dialogue highlights the emotional brutality that the characters dish out to each other. Just because the film doesn't feature any gunshots or gore doesn't mean it's not violent. It gets under your skin and the poisonous nature of the dialogue and the characters' actions are just as uncomfortable.
Needless to say, this is not a movie for everyone. To appreciate "Closer" (as "enjoy" is a word no one would use to describe this film), you have to be willing to spend two hours with people who are, to one degree or another, vile and emotionally sadistic. You also have to deal with a fuzzy timeline and crucial scenes that happen off screen or out-of-order, which leads to confusion. And literate dialogue that doesn't always come easily from the mouths of the actors who say them. That said, what the film does, it does well. You at least have to respect it for that.
Starring: Jude Law, Natalie Portman, Clive Owen, Julia Roberts
Rated R for Sequences of Graphic Sexual Dialogue, Nudity/Sexuality and Language
They say that honesty is the best policy, and I suppose that in most cases it is. Not for the people in "Closer." For Dan, Larry, Alice and Anna, it causes more problems than it's worth. A lot of misery could have been spared all around had they been willing to live down a lie or two. But then since they all hate themselves for being the most selfish people on the face of the earth, maybe not.
"Closer" tells the story of two couples: Dan (Law) & Alice (Portman) and Larry (Owen) and Anna (Roberts). Initially, both couples are happy, but for various reasons sparks begin to fly between the opposites of each pair. Thus begins a four-year odyssey where couples change and change back and every good person turns rotten.
If there is a movie with a more cynical point of view on love and sex, I haven't seen it. This is a story where words are a form of violence, sex is a weapon and emotions are weaknesses to be exploited to get back at someone else. Each character in this movie dishes out and receives a lot of pain and suffering, but no one earns much sympathy for their actions. They all reap what they sow.
"Closer" is a downer and not a pleasant experience. What makes the film compulsively watchable is the high level of acting. But considering that the cast includes Jude Law, Natalie Portman, Clive Owen and Julia Roberts, is this really surprising? Leading the pack is Clive Owen, whose portrayal of a cuckolded husband turned cold manipulator is riveting. At the beginning of the film, Larry is a stand up guy (more or less...at least when compared to the others). But when he is betrayed by Anna for a weasel like Dan, he schemes to take back what is his, or at least spoil it for his nemesis. Julia Roberts, normally such a sunny and charismatic actress, does a very good job playing a woman who is so weak that she can't decide between either man and is oblivious to the pain that it causes She took the role over from Cate Blanchett who had to drop out due to pregnancy, but she makes it her own (still, I would have loved to see her in this role). Natalie Portman is quite good as the innocent who is corrupted by the toxic people around her. This was her first truly adult role and while she certainly sheds her child star image, she's been better elsewhere. The weak link is Jude Law. He's certainly not bad as the guy who uses people without a thought and is surprised when the tables are turned, but he has his flat moments.
It is obvious that the film is based on a play (which at one point starred Clive Owen in the role of Dan). "Closer" exists on dialogue and acting alone. There is no real action or, surprisingly, any real sexual activity. There is, however, plenty of explicit dialogue about sex that is shockingly frank. But the graphic nature of the dialogue highlights the emotional brutality that the characters dish out to each other. Just because the film doesn't feature any gunshots or gore doesn't mean it's not violent. It gets under your skin and the poisonous nature of the dialogue and the characters' actions are just as uncomfortable.
Needless to say, this is not a movie for everyone. To appreciate "Closer" (as "enjoy" is a word no one would use to describe this film), you have to be willing to spend two hours with people who are, to one degree or another, vile and emotionally sadistic. You also have to deal with a fuzzy timeline and crucial scenes that happen off screen or out-of-order, which leads to confusion. And literate dialogue that doesn't always come easily from the mouths of the actors who say them. That said, what the film does, it does well. You at least have to respect it for that.
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