01/25/2012 (0 of 0 found this helpful)

"Closer" by Yojimbo

Mike Nichols directs a well observed and witty study of relationships based on the love quadrangle between two couples. Far from the usual sentimental drivel you'd expect from Hollywood style films about "romance", this movie which although can seem a little overly self conscious in places, does have the kind of brutal honesty that superficially seems the antithesis. These lovers are in turns selfish, manipulative, spiteful and pathetic; just like real people. Jude Law is the perfect choice for playing a smug, self-involved asshole, Owen treads the fine line between likability and self righteous nastiness as does Portman's beautiful but emotionally needy bimbo. And Julia Roberts is inevitably Julia Roberts. At the end of the day you're still just watching a bunch of pretentious, privelege...

Rating of
2/4 

01/23/2012 (0 of 0 found this helpful)

Closer (2004)

I guess many people wouldn’t like this movie because of its sexual explicitness and the disturbing lack of romance by those engaged in such interludes but I thought it was a very true, down to earth and gritty take on reality. The current state of your love life may determine your eventual perception. Regardless, I hope you find both this review and the movie a worthwhile event. This is not your typical romantic movie and some of the dialogue is very crude. So be warned!!

Closer is an uncompromising look at that great big messy thing we call love and tells a story of betrayal, attraction and sex. The cast is amazing and the characters are shockingly deceptive and manipulative. I don't like Julia Roberts that much except for Pretty Woman and Sleeping with the Enemy, but she gets her job...

Rating of
3/4 

07/30/2011 (0 of 0 found this helpful)

Closer review

A romantic drama about cheating and relationships. The stellar cast include Julia Roberts (Anna Cameron), Jude Law (Dan Woolf), Natalie Portman (Alice Ayres/Jane Jones) and Clive Owen (Larry Gray). The story of this film is deep, yet its screenplay lacks depth. Natalie Portman is miscast in this role as a stripper. I felt Scarlet Johansson (He’s Just That Not Into You) or Jessica Alba (Sin City) could have played the role. The pacing of the film is slow, the characters were not that endearing and the direction was just off. It had some solid performances and nice lines; however it wasn’t proficient as a whole. You never felt sympathetic with the characters and it felt unromantic. I would rather watch Unfaithful Wife or Basic Instinct; those really had an impact with excellent acti...

Rating of
2/4 

02/24/2009 (0 of 0 found this helpful)

"Abandon all hope ye who enter here."


Who would think - even for a second, that a piece involving Jude Law, Clive Owen, MIKE NICHOLS, and the stellar (personal crush) Natalie Portman, would be anything less than earth-quaking? Unfortunately, quite less than earth-quaking it ended up being.

This is a story for, and about the soul-less. Grotesque game playing to provide a proper platform for juicy, bitter, dialogue. Juicy it is, and if wisely used (say, sprinkled throughout a REALISTIC story) it would come across brutally beautiful and heart wrenching. (Instead of childish.. even mildly tacky at times.)

Ugh. It pains me to write this, Nichols..
Being a huge, *HUGE* fan of Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf - a sad, rich, dynamic play adapted to screenplay PERFECTION by Ernest Lehm...

Rating of
2/4 

01/15/2008 (0 of 0 found this helpful)

We are all Strangers

There's this indescribable feeling that surrounds you upon hearing the song played in the last minutes of film. This specific mood makes you feel a sense of emptiness in the pit of your stomach particularly when these lines from the song utter “Can’t take my eyes of you” as Natalie Portman strides into the sea of strangers. The credit goes to the musical score which makes this film touch you inside and feel the sorrow the lead characters are going through. Well to me Natalie Portman’s performance was above flawless. And she certainly has one of the most beautiful faces I’ve ever seen, angelic even. I guess that’s why her acting worked in so many ways, because her character Alice has a face of an angel with a devilish body. A perfect contrast I might say. Other actors such as Jude Law, Cli...

Rating of
3.5/4 

12/24/2007 (0 of 0 found this helpful)

Closer

I will always consider this a great anti-romantic comedy. I liked the idea of characters lying, cheating, and deceiving each other throughout the entire film. It's hard to imagine anyone else filling the shoes of Clive Owen, Natalie Portman, Jude Law, and Julia Roberts because each of them contributes something special that made this picture extremely memorable. I think the title fits the movie because no matter how close the characters get emotionally, they are never successful when it comes to acquiring genuine and utter connection. Each character is strong in their own way, yet weak also. That rings very true to life because we are all damaged creatures, striving to be loved regardless of how we see the world and the people that live in that world. This film provides fascinating charac...

Rating of
4/4