Country:
USA/U.K
Recognizable Faces:
Jude Law
Clive Owen
Natalie Portman
Julia Roberts
Directed By:
Mike Nichols
Growing older, I find that I really don't mind a romance movie, as long as it's not made to satisfy someone's fantasies. A good, realistic romance story about the challenges of relationships and human selfishness has universal appeal. CLOSER is a movie based on a play by British writer Patrick Marber and it's a really cool and sexy romance drama. Director Mike Nichols has an interesting rap sheet, being the thinking mind behind classics such as WHO'S AFRAID OF VIRGINIA WOOLF?, THE GRADUATE and CATCH-22, but the latter part of his career has been somewhat lackluster. His adaptation of CLOSER (the second to last film he ever shot) was so subtle and deceitful I has sometimes the feeling I was watching something by Steven Soderbergh. CLOSER is a movie that taps into that human longing for love and its selfish nature. When you're in love, you're in it for yourself. For your own fulfillment.
Now bear with me, because it's going to get a little complicated. Dan (Jude Law) is that typical married,-in-his-thirties guy who's looking for "true" things in life. Enters Alice (Natalie Portman), who's really as candid and charming as Natalie Portman can get on screen. Dan falls in love and dumps his wife for Alice (who happens to be a stripper, who make a living out of deception, right?). Fast forward a few years, Dan is finally doing something with his life (wrote a novel) and while taking promotional picture, the situation is getting tense with his photographer Anna (Julia Roberts), a sexually mature, but hurt woman and...well Dan falls in love with her. But since she rejects him (she loves him but she can't bear being with a cheater), Dan takes vengeance by getting her a blind date with an internet perv (Clive Owen). But that perv ended up being a very charming doctor named Larry and a beautiful relationship blooms out of this. The couples meet at Anna's exhibit opening and Larry is really turned on by the raw sexual appeal of Alice...and Dan and Anna...you know...it gets all entangled from here.
Ladies, CLOSER is the kind of movie you want to watch with your man, because it's going to trigger some interesting discussions. Like, is it really contest to compare Natalie Portman and Julia Roberts? Most guys will watch CLOSER and ask themselves what the fuck is wrong with Jude Law. Julia Roberts is somewhat of a miscast here. Maybe Demi Moore would have been a better choice as the older, sexually mature woman. But if you can suspend your disbelief and shush your man-rationale, this is a really good, maze-like movie built in the tradition of Steven Soderbergh's films. There are long ellipses where important periods of time go by and it's not really explained. Mike Nichols relies on the viewers' instinct in order to notice the slight change in the characters personalities and in the relationships momentum. It's a lot of work and involvement, but it makes you realize how the typical Hollywood film is spoon feeding your own emotions to you. It makes viewing CLOSER quite the liberating experience.
If you're looking for a shut-your-brain-off type of movie, CLOSER is NOT for you. Then again, if you're a regular of my movie reviews, you know I'm not big into the shut-your-brain-off experience. It's smart, subtle and deceitful like the characters it portrays. It's also a very sensual movie that taps into the damage of desire for relationships. This is a pretty fresh spin on romance, if you consider that most movies in the genre end up with the first kiss in between two individuals. Patrick Marber's story literally deconstructs relationships, by making them fail using every element that made it work in the first place. Desire, lust, deception. Watching CLOSER, the real nature of love will become more mysterious than ever for you, but it will make one thing clear. Self-involved relationships don't work. There is something altruistic, compassionate to love. Without it, you end up alone.CLOSER is eerie and smart and make a strong point. Very good film, if a little depressing.
SCORE: 83%
