Closer (Superbit Edition)
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Movie Reviews of Closer (Superbit Edition)
Movie Review: Hello, Stranger
Summary: 5 Stars
Closer is another great film from director Mike Nichols. It is like a postcard from the edge, full of carnal knowledge, unafraid of Virginia Woolf, avoiding any Catch 22's, and the graduate cum laude of the school of hard knocks. Screenplay and the Play it was based on were both written by Patrick Marber, who also wrote the Screenplay for Notes on a Scandal.
It is a tremendous showcase for the acting talent of the four main characters played by Jude Law, Julia Roberts, Clive Owen, and Natalie Portman. One is a writer, mostly of obituaries--though he does write one book based on a stripper he meets when she is struck by the cab he's riding in. He falls in love with her instantly, but not deep enough to resist falling for the photographer who later shoots his photo for the book jacket. Then, after a session of cybersex where he pretends to be a woman, he inadvertently engineers the meeting of a dermatologist with his photographer lover.
Infidelity and the resulting jealousy are the themes of Closer, along with the related themes of truth and identity. For instance, Alice Ayres, the stripper portrayed by Portman, uses the name of Jane while working. The dermatologist, played by Clive Owen, knows her as Alice, and he tries to get her to call herself that, to reach that level of intimacy--though she is performing a fantasy for him.
Larry: There's a girl out there who calls herself Venus, what's her real name?
Alice: Pluto.
But what is Alice's real name? Don't assume you know the answer to that question. This scene was of interest to me because I noticed that throughout the director would often use music, but coming from another room, slightly muffled. How Soon is Now? by The Smiths, a veritable anthem of loneliness, is heard here, but they are in a private room, the Paradise Suite, and though the song speaks to the dermatologist's yearning to be closer, it is muted and subdued.
There is another scene at the opera that is played out entirely in the corridors, bar, and foyers. You never hear the opera directly, though it is Mozart's Cosi fan tutte, with Rene Fleming, no less. Another subtle comment on the theme of Closer, for the title, Così fan tutte, literally means "Thus do all [women]" often roughly translated as "Women are like that". Mozart and his lyricist Da Ponte took as a theme "fiancée swapping" which dates back to the 13th century, with notable earlier versions being those of Boccaccio's Decameron and Shakespeare's play Cymbeline. Elements from the myth of Procris as found in Ovid's Metamorphoses are also present. Furthermore, it incorporates elements of Shakespeare's The Taming of the Shrew. Thus, it is a fitting soundtrack for this scene in Closer where the obituary writer realizes that the photographer has just cheated on him with her now ex husband, the dermatologist. Yet, you never see the opera directly, and only hear it indirectly.
As well as unheard music the director also makes use of unseen scenes. Sometimes you see two people meet, and then suddenly it is a year later. He leaves all the things that happen in a relationship between the times they fall in love and out of love out of it. He cuts to the chase, as it were. Though you might expect a film of this sort to be hard to follow, it is to the credit of the director that this is never the case. No matter how convoluted the intertwining relationships, you always know who is in or out of love, cheating, cheated on, or what have you. At least you know enough to follow the story, given the high level of ambiguity the characters have about their own real feelings.
Patrick Marber, the writer, really makes the most of his material. Really fantastic dialogue, or is it the brilliant acting that makes this shine? Both, actually. There is a scene where Jude Law is flirting with Julia Roberts. It is like a championship tennis match. Law serves his best lines and Roberts slams them right back at him. Bam. Bam. Bam. Match point. When did Julia get to be such a great actress? I used to think she just fell back on her Julia Roberts smile a bit too much. All the acting is of the highest calibre, as is the writing and directing.
Here is a little sample of the obituary writer describing how they use euphemisms in their line of work:
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Dan: At six, we stand round the computer and look at the next day's page, make final changes, add a few euphemisms for our own amusement.
Alice: Such as?
Dan: "He was a convivial fellow" - meaning he was an alcoholic. "He valued his privacy" - gay. "He enjoyed his privacy" - raging queen.
Alice: What would my euphemism be?
Dan: She was... disarming.
Alice: That's not a euphemism.
Dan: Yes, it is.
DIRECTED BY MIKE NICHOLS
Charlie Wilson's War (2007) (with Julia Roberts as Joanne Herring)
Postcards from the Edge (1990)
Carnal Knowledge (1971)
Catch-22 (1970)
The Graduate (1967)
Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966)
OTHER ROLES FROM THE CAST OF CLOSER
My Blueberry Nights (2007) .... Jude Law was Jeremy & Natalie Portman was Leslie
Sin City (2005) .... Clive Owen was Dwight
V for Vendetta (Widescreen Edition) (2005) .... Natalie Portman was Evey
Cold Mountain (Two-Disc Collector's Edition) (2003) .... Jude Law was Inman & Natalie Portman was Sara
The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999) .... Jude Law was Dickie Greenleaf
... aka The Mysterious Yearning Secretive Sad Lonely Troubled Confused Loving Musical Gifted Intelligent Beautiful Tender Sensitive Haunted Passionate Talented Mr. Ripley (complete title)
Bent (1997) .... Jude Law was a Stormtrooper and Clive Owen was Max
Beautiful Girls (1996) .... Natalie Portman was Marty
Mystic Pizza (1988) .... Julia Roberts was Daisy Arujo
Alice: I don't love you anymore. Goodbye.
Movie Review: A Poignantly Riviting Bergmanesque Experience...
Summary: 5 Stars
A relationship commences the instant two individuals meet. Eye contact leads to conversation which builds a connection between the people involved in the mutual communication. This moment of communication is occasionally emotionally loaded where the involved begin to explore each other's compatibilities. If there is a mutual harmony the conversation usually progresses. However, communication is not the only thing needed for a romantic relationship, as the possibility of physical closeness where an opportunity of sharing thoughts, feelings, and secrets brings about a bond of trust. Trust is what unites people, as they let the other closer into themselves with the intention of mutual expectation of protection and nurturing love. Some have much difficulty building this trust as it can take years after a painful memory when their trust once was broken. Closer brings the audience the moment where trust begins and ends in a visual dissection of human emotions where pain, suffering, love, trust, and much more are explored.
Closer offers a Bergmanesque experience which dives deep into the psyche of the four main characters of the story. Through the four characters the audience is allowed into a secret and personal world, a world most can identify through self scrutiny. In a sense, Closer comes closer to the audience, as the mirror of our thoughts and feelings creeps slowly closer until we can feel the cold reflective surface pressing against our noses. Yet, it is also distinctively unique as the situation, location, and the words that are said are strange and unfamiliar to the audience, as the viewers bring their own notions, experiences, values, and morals to the viewing of the film. Nonetheless, the director Mike Nichols, with the help of the four talented actors in the film, brings the audience a long painful lesson of how people are getting closer to one another.
The story opens in London with Dan (Jude Law) taking his morning stroll to work, as he does everyday, when he stumbles across a refreshing sight in the American girl Alice (Natalie Portman). Alice is accidentally hit by a car which brings them closer for the moment, as their closeness to one another continues through Dan's nurturing care for Alice's injury. Initially they study each other visually, through words, and touch, as they begin to build an emotional bond through humor and personal thoughts. This is the beginning of a romantic relationship that brings them close, but it does not eliminate a tiny space between them as Dan never truly gives himself to Alice. It appears as if Dan is looking for something else, yet he is not really sure what it is he is looking for, but he seems to be looking for something better. Yet, Dan remains within the relationship, maybe out of convenience and because he does not want to hurt Alice. The mental absence of Dan creates an emotional distance between them, which Alice feels strongly as she senses a looming pain being sent her way at any moment through Dan leaving her.
Through a couple of years of living together Dan has reached more success as a writer, maybe with the emotional support of Alice, and he is to take a picture for his upcoming book. Taking the picture is a stunning American, Anna (Julia Roberts), who tells Dan that she liked his book, as he notices portraits around in the photo studio that catch his eye. This begins an infatuation between Anna and Dan. It seems as if Dan seeks someone equally successful that can provide additional emotional support to elevate his career. In a sense, Dan seems to be an emotional opportunist that craves affection, yet he is incapable of fully providing for others who need it as much.
On the internet, in a chat room, Dan pretends to be Anna where he meets Larry (Clive Owen), a medical doctor, as they preoccupy themselves with cybersex. Eventually, this chatting leads to them planning a rendezvous at the city aquarium, as Dan has learned that Anna likes to find people there to take their portrait. Larry who is all excited about the planned meeting finds himself in a somewhat awkward situation, as he realizes that he has been set up. Nonetheless, Anna and Larry seem to find each other, as they begin to date through Dan's little prank which turns him into cupid.
The film continues to explore more of the four characters personal psychology, and what drives them to do what they are doing. Nichols cleverly depicts how they get closer through terrific visuals and a well-written script, which balances the brilliant performances of the small cast. The visuals bring out their unique personalities through delicately balanced contrasts, warm and cold lighting, and mise-en-scene that offers both closeness and distance. These visual elements enhance the emotionally painful moments where the cast must bring out the best of themselves in order to make it feel authentic, which they do to perfection. This makes the lines sound vibrant and alive while hurtful and loving words are exchanged in the privacy of the characters. At last, the film offers a poignantly brilliant cinematic experience that tears the soul and rips the heart while they all are trying to find a way to get closer to one another.
Movie Review: Glad I didn't read the "reviews"
Summary: 5 Stars
I saw the trailer, thought it was interesting, took a chance due to the director and cast. What I saw was a adult story about people doing stupid things in the name of love.
I probably saw a different film from a lot of people but I could identify with the characters. Thankfully, I wasn't as stupid or outright ugly as these (I think, intentionally beautiful) people, but I did do some stupid things at various ages as represented here, and while I'm older than all the characters in the film, I identified with a lot of friends, ex-friends, etc. who lived their lives in a series of lies about themseles, their relationships and what happiness was.
In this sense Close is an adult film with some excellent writing by it's screenwriter/playwrite. The characers in general aren't all that loveable, but they aren't dispicable; just human.
Mike Nichols has been down this path before, particularly in "Carnal Knowledge", but also throughout his career.
What it comes down to is whether these characters are at all sympathetic to you, or even believeable. Perhaps it was the kind of lifestyle I lead or the people I knew, but life is full of dumb decisions and implausable reasoning. Call this adults behaving badly, or perhpas, three adults, a stunted growth damaged girl (Portnoy), a depressive (Roberts in a nice change of pace) and men being men. I know, I'm a man.
It seems like a good amount of people wanted a beautiful story rather than stunted growth between the sexes. The film was shot with a clinical vs warm fascade that represented the "warm characters" although as we see through the film, even the nicest guy in the film is SOB when he wants to be and his vengence is cruel, even if he's still nice enough to help his nemesis.
Taken from a more adult perspective, he's just increasing his odds of making his relationship work out better. People aren't nice in Closer, nor are the pure evil. In fact, the least likeable character for me ended up getting some questionable pity from me.
The acting is excellent, that's why it got considerations, not because of the big name cast, because there was a script of extremely well written prose being acted effectively by the actors and stewarded by Mike Nichols.
This isn't typically a film I'd bother with, but I'm glad I saw it. All I can say is depending who you are, what you've experienced and whether you have spent enough time on this earth to have spent time with people like this, will help to some degree whether you like this film.
Forget it if you need action and adventure, this is a nicely told story that happens over years of time and does so using smart writing and film editing and director's work. I think a lot of people who found this not unrealistic or unsympathetic or any of the given reasons why people hate this perfectly fine film. Of course there are the sartorial, look at me, I'm sartorial! types here that find the film shallow or decadent or whatever. Guess what, there are shallow, decadent or whatever people in this world and some of them may become someone you love or find beautiful.
Woody Allen's "Anything Else" had a somewhat similar outlook but was funny and had similarly nice performances by it's cast, particularly an older Allen as a nutball acting his age. But if anyone wants to look at odd, beautiful people, have a look at Allen's playbook of lovers and his questionable decisions that were not incest but were the next best thing.
He's intellectually interesting to women, ask some people who saw films by him when he was in his 30s and 40s. They all had a crush on the nebbish commedian with loveable faults.
Maybe that would have been an interesting way of playing the film, but it probably wouldn't have gotten made or gotten an audience. I actually liked the theme of moderate to extrememly damaged humans that were close to each other and very much perfect in cultural eyes, but maybe I'm reading more depth into Closer than was intended, though I don't think so.
A good quality, well written and acted film adult film is made and somehow that's a terrible thing to some here. To people that enjoy film as much as reading, I think you'll enjoy the prose and the decently fleshed out characters found in Closer. Maybe I'm rating this a 5 out of spite to those that made it out to be terrible. I'd say it's a solid 4+ film, maybe a 4.5. See this if you haven't seen adult themes missing the actual themes claimed to be in the film. This one has the goods and is worth your support.
The DVD is lacking in extras and you may want to hold off for the Collectors, Special, Ultra Close edition that does have good extras, but those that feel they might have "gotten it" or liked the film better if only the director and or cast spoke about the film, I'd say, that's nice but I buy a dvd for the film, not the features.
I like them, but I'm pefectly happy a well crafted film as is. Maybe you will too. This is a film that depends on the ability to get into the character's heads wich is admittedly difficult at times, but it is worth the effort and I hope more people give this good film a chance.
Movie Review: One of the Year's Best!
Summary: 5 Stars
"Closer" is the story of four people, two men and two women, who are some of the saddest you'll ever see. It's based on a stage play, and it's obvious because this movie works like a play, giving conversation after conversation rotating between these characters. It always grabs your attention, and it always gives you something to think about. I recently wrote about "The Machinist," which is a character study of Trevor Reznick. "Closer" has four great characters to study, and they all deserve each other. It is about the ability of being happy, telling the truth, and to love, because I don't think any of these characters are able to do any of those. Jude Law is in this movie, to add to the other five that he's in, but his preformance is not the highlight. There are four great preformances, equally from Jude, Julia Roberts, Natalie Portman, and Clive Owen, who probably was the most nasty out of all of them. You will be shocked by some of the phrases and words you hear in the film, but it's exactly the things that we say in real life. It's just more personal because you don't realize it when you say it. The movies don't normally give you such a breath of reality, but this does. It's directed by Mike Nicols, and I've only seen one of his movies, "The Birdcage." This is a totally different kind of movie, but it does mix elements of dram and humor, even though it's not as slapstick as "The Birdcage."
The movie begins with Dan and Alice walking towards each other, flirting with their eyes, when she's isn't paying attention and gets hit by a car. Dan volenteers to take her to the hospital and tend for her bloody knee and side of her face, and they get to conversation. They walk to his office, and then we cut to years later. Dan wrote a book about Alice, and is getting his picture taken for the book jacket. The photographer is Anna, and soon the two begin to kiss, when Dan tells her that Alice is going to pick him up, while still kissing her. He tells her that he's in love with her, and has to see her again, but she tells him that he will forget about her. He decides to have fun, and goes to an adult internet chat room, where he poses as a women as he talks to Larry. While Dan is just having fun, Larry is actually taking care of his sexual desires, and when Dan says "I want to meet you," he tells him to meet "her" at the aquarium. Dan isn't really going to go, he's just busting Larry's chops. Larry meets Anna at the aquarium, thinking that she was the one on the internet, and eventually the two start their relationship. Pretty soon, Dan's affair with Anna leads Alice to become a stripper, where her and Larry meet and have their fun, as Dan, Alice, Larry, and Anna all form a web of deciet, hurt, and overall, what they believe to be love.
Towards the end of "Closer," Dan makes a comment saying that with the truth we'd all be animals. The irony here is that none of the characters ever tell the truth to the ones they say they love. It begins to make you wonder if any of them have the power to love, because everytime they get closer to commitment, they "fall in love" with somebody else. These people can all be happy if they wanted to be, but they don't. They just want to be happy during the moment they are in, and nothing more. It's very powerful, and very sad. There is some dark humor, a joke here or there, and everything works in the movie. It's getting to be that I go see a movie and expect Jude Law to be there. I've seen five of his six movies, and I think there has to be an Oscar nomination in one of them for him. I'm aiming towards this, but he was also the main focus in "Alfie," which was an "ok" movie with a breathtaking preformance. Julia Roberts is getting better and better, and I thought she was "getting better" with "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind," but she wasd great in "Closer." Her preformance in this is very different from "Ocean's Twelve," but she was just having a good time while making that. Clive Owen had to be the highlight here, because he was the most nasty in the film. You spend the movie trying to figure out which characters you like and which you don't, when you realize that you can't like any of them, because all they do is lie and cheat. "Closer" is a stark picture of reality, and while it takes a while for it to sink in that we are like these people, in the end, it's something that you think about for a long time. I think the people that don't like it, don't want to admit that truth to themselves. People are not always nice and caring and loving and willing to commit, and this movie proves it. This is one of the best movies of the year.
ENJOY!
Rated R for sequences of graphic sexual dialogue, nudity/sexuality and language.
The rating seems harsh, but the movie itself wasn't as bad it it makes it out to be. Pretty much no graphic images here.
Movie Review: Deception and Lies
Summary: 5 Stars
CLOSER is a film about the strange interplay between four people who richly deserve each other, as well as the disaster that they all bring to each other's lives.
The story begins simply enough, with Dan (Jude Law) meeting "Alice" (Natalie Portman) on the street. Alice is striking in the crowd: her hair is spiked and fuchsia, and their eyes lock. While waiting at the street corner, Alice is hit by a taxi receiving minor injuries, and Dan, who we already know has an immediate attraction to her, takes her to the hospital where she receives two stitches on her leg. This begins their relationship. Dan gives Alice a very brief tour of London (he is late for work, after all), and the next thing you know it Dan is being photographed by Anna (Julia Roberts) for the author's photo on a book he has published, a book whose heroine is modeled after Alice. During the photo shoot, Dan tells Julia to "come here", and after a brief moment she moves forward, and he moves forward to her and they kiss. They both acknowledge involvement with others (indeed, Alice is meeting him there after her shift), and Anna appears to pull away. When Alice arrives, she goes to the bathroom and Dan tells Anna that he has to see her. Unfortunately, Alice heard him while he was in the bathroom, something she communicates to Anna while Anna is photographing her (she had never been professionally photographed, she says, but I believe it was really a ruse to let Anna know what she heard). Anna takes a moving and poignant photograph of tears rolling down Alice's cheeks. She says that she isn't a thief, and comments on how interesting Alice's life is. Alice makes a dismissive comment (I can't remember exactly what it was), but we learn that there isn't only one person being deceptive here - it's quite obvious that Alice has secrets of her own.
In a bizarre and rather sexually explicit internet exchange, Dan (impersonating Anna), encourages another man, a dermatologist (Clive Owen as Larry), to meet him (her) at the aquarium. Dan sends him to the aquarium because Anna says that she often goes there. Larry goes, sees Anna (who could miss the description: big mouth, killer ****), and converses with her. It takes only a moment for Dan's deception to be made known.
Like a play (which this is taken from), there are large jumps in time. This second jump takes us to a point where Larry and Anna are now in a relationship. This is a bit of a surprise, because Larry doesn't come across as a decent person. Indeed, in a conversation he has with Alice (while Dan and Anna are talking privately), he says, "sometimes the frog gets the princess". He may have been referring to his exterior looks, but I read it to be a metaphor for his interior ugliness, as I viewed his character more than any to be in a state of nearly constant moral decay.
In the film, people change lovers like underwear, and Anna leaves Larry for Dan, Alice begins stripping after Dan leaves her (although in perhaps a pointed comment she tells Larry that nobody left her), and then they switch back again. "Closer" may have a deeper meaning than the one that seems obvious, but this movie seems to me more aptly titled "How to Screw Up Your Life by Cheating and Lying".
What's of tremendous interest is that each man, after learning that their respective partner (whichever one it was at the time), is intent on knowing the exact particulars of the indiscretion. As Larry acknowledges, he wants to know because he is a caveman. That is certainly a word I would have picked if he hadn't.
All four characters began with little innocence, and end with less. We know the least about Anna, but we can judge her by her actions - which are deplorable. Her obvious lack of happiness in the end also speaks volumes. Larry is the most obviously decrepit character, as he brazenly displays his lack of concern and care for others when, mainly, he is seeking some form of revenge. Alice is the character that seems to be the most innocent, but in the end we find out that we really know absolutely nothing about her whatsoever. And Dan - Dan perhaps wants to be as morally reprehensible as Larry, but he lacks the ability to do so. Yes, he is a cheat, a liar, and a thief (in love), but there is an innocence about him. Anna told Larry that he would cry for his mother in his sleep, and this, perhaps, explains much. It also gives us the most information we get regarding Anna and her true feelings for Dan. You don't share secrets like that unless you are making fun of the person.
These are four deeply flawed people, but they are four people that it's not difficult to imagine meeting in everyday life.