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Amazon.co.uk Review
Four extremely beautiful people do extremely horrible things to one another in Closer, Mike Nichols' pungent adaptation of Patrick Marber's play that easily marks the Oscar-winning director's best work in years. Anna (Julia Roberts) is a photographer who specializes in portraits of strangers; Dan (Jude Law) is an obituary writer struggling to become a novelist; Alice (Natalie Portman) is an American stripper freshly arrived in London after a bad relationship; and Larry (Clive Owen) is a dermatologist who finds love under the most unlikely of circumstances. When their paths cross it's a dizzying supernova of emotions, as Nichols and Marber adroitly construct various scenes out of their lives that pair them again and again in various permutations of passion, heartbreak, anger, sadness, vengeance, pleading, deception, and most importantly, brutal honesty. It's only until you're more than halfway through the movie that you'll have to ask yourself exactly why you are watching such a beautifully tragic tale, as Closer is basically the ickiest, grossest, most dysfunctional parts of all your past relationships strung together into one movie. Ultimately, it falls to the four actors to draw you deeper into the story; all succeed relatively, but it's Law and Owen whose characters will cut you to the quick. Law proves that yet again he's most adept at playing charming, amoral bastards with manipulative streaks, and Owen is nothing short of brilliant as the character most turned on by the energy inherent in destructive relationships--whether he's on the giving or receiving end. --Mark Englehart
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
6 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
Talent 5 - ; Sum Of Its Parts - 0,
By Martin A Hogan "Marty From SF" (San Francisco, CA. (Hercules)) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER) (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER) (REAL NAME)
This review is from: Closer [DVD] [2004] (DVD)
Natalie Portman, Jude Law, Julia Roberts and Clive Owen are all brilliant actors and Mike Nichols almost always directs films that last forever in their emotional depth. (Check out his resume). Patrick Marber wrote the original stage play and it almost makes me want to seek it out in its truest form, as this film brought out nothing in me other than cynicism and dismay. In fact, the main emotional themes seem to be neurotic passion, heartbreak, sadness, anger, evil vengeance, pathetic pleading, deception, and honesty to the point of brutality. Some may find this an interesting exploration of emotions mixed with complex personalities in confusing circumstances. Some call this entertainment, but I think all involved could have done much better. This is a very personal film and one that can only be interpreted by the viewer. I found it very, very bleak.
21 of 23 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Pseuds' Corner,
By
This review is from: Closer [DVD] [2004] (DVD)
I'm sorry but this is pretentious nonsense and somebody has to speak out!
I used to love (screenwriter) Patrick Marber in The Day Today and I thought his adaptation of Zoe Heller's 'Notes on a Scandal' was pretty good stuff, but this is just total dross and I can't believe anyone thinks otherwise. It's not like I spend my life watching Rambo films - name pretty much any poncey film and I've seen it twice and got the t-shirt - and I have absolutely nothing against the 'mature themes' that others have mentioned. But 'Closer' is in fact mind-bogglingly immature, like an erotic story written by a virgin. Tee hee, Natalie Portman is a stripper, Clive Owen surfs dirty websites at work, everyone jumps in and out of bed with each other... Aren't we big and aren't we clever? Well, no, actually, and dialogue such as 'I love you. I need a p*ss' is like something out of a sixth-form play. No surprises for guessing that this was, in fact, adapted from Marber's own stage play. Everything has the ring of artificiality, and the dialogue is horribly arch and self-satisfied. The whole thing is one big Neil La Bute rip-off. Wisps of character drifting about saying unlikely things in sneery voices and swearing a bit to show how marvellously cutting edge it all is. (The funny thing is, I kind of like Neil La Bute. There's an air of originality to his work, no matter how annoying. But sloppy seconds are an entirely different matter.) Clive Owen is probably the worst offender. He can barely deliver a line here! He's so awful I almost want to cry. I hope Julia Roberts worked for free because she's barely in it. Even when she's on screen you don't notice she's there. She has one scene (with Clive Owen unfortunately) where she shows some emotional depth, but other than that she's the priciest wallpaper you're ever likely to see. As for Jude Law, they seem to have cobbled his role together from four or five different films. I can't even begin to describe his character(s). Kudos to Natalie Portman for being the least annoying of the four. It probably helps that she's luminously beautiful, and male fans will no doubt be giddy with glee watching her lapdance for Clive Owen. It seems such a waste, though, to go to the trouble of disrobing for such embarrassing pap. Is it every actress's secret desire to get nekkid? I don't understand it. No doubt the closing scene is intended to be poignant, but actually it's just an excuse to watch Portman's rack bouncing about in a skimpy top. 'Pretentious? Moi?' That line wasn't actually in the film, but it should have been. Just because it's long and complicated and un-involving doesn't make it art. If you want an intelligent, edgy film that actually says something about the human condition, try 'The Dream Life of Angels'. La Bute's 'In the Company of Men' and 'The Shape of Things' are both vaguely irritating but still a safer bet than wasting two hours of your life watching 'Closer'. This is a horrible film! A pseud in La Bute's clothing.
49 of 55 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
A beautifully dark study of love,
By A Customer
This review is from: Closer [DVD] [2004] (DVD)
This film is based on the brilliant play of the same name, and concerns themes of love, deception and betrayal.I think some of the viewers who have left comments on the website have largely missed the point. It is certainly not a romantic comedy (and how you would presume this from the tag-line I don't quite understand, 'If you believe in love at first sight, you never stop looking'). Nor is it badly acted at all, and I think the language is effective precisely because it is so real. It is not a pretty tale, it's a true one about love in London in the nineties. And believe me I was there... It is a simple story of meetings and break-ups, a brutal tale of love, the precise opposite to a rom-com. This film considers the other side of 'happy ever after', of how love turns out in a not-so-perfect world. The film is made up of a series of duologues, wonderfully acted, particularly by Owen and Portman, who truly shine in their roles. All give remarkably exposing performances, and I was really impressed by the lack of 'Hollywood glamour' in the film. Yes, all the stars are stunning, but all present very raw characters - and that is precisely what it is about. Sex is mis-presented as love, and love as sex, and both can be thrown about easily. This is not an easy film to watch. It hurts, some of the dialogue is genuinely brutal, but overall I think it's a good adaptation of the stage play. If you want to watch a nice romantic comedy, buy 'Maid in Manhatten'. But if you're after something a bit edgier and more true, then this is much closer to the bone.
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