Read Mixed User Reviews for Closer

5

drlowdonMay 25, 2013

Based on an award winning play Closer tells the story of four lovers across a four year period. The movies theatre origins are apparent throughout with its small cast and succession of two person scenes. While this is not necessarily a badBased on an award winning play Closer tells the story of four lovers across a four year period. The movies theatre origins are apparent throughout with its small cast and succession of two person scenes. While this is not necessarily a bad thing, most scenes are certainly well written and performed admirably by the cast, it can make their story seem very isolated from the outside world on occasions.

Despite these excellent performances however the biggest problem I had with Closer is that, with the possible exception of Alice (Portman), it is very difficult to feel any sympathy for any of the characters and their predicaments. Throughout the film their behavior makes them continually come across as totally unlikable to the point that by the films conclusion the ongoing drama between them becomes closer to irritating than interesting.… Expand

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6

SpangleDec 21, 2016

There is something about Closer than is entirely off-putting. It is not the fact that it is a film about four people that are, well, unsavory characters. I can handle films about people I do not care for. The problem with Closer is it feelsThere is something about Closer than is entirely off-putting. It is not the fact that it is a film about four people that are, well, unsavory characters. I can handle films about people I do not care for. The problem with Closer is it feels like a 2000s drama that is soulless. I have seen this a few times before (The Reader by Stephen Daldry comes to mind immediately) and there was something about this film that made me feel as though it would not be my cup of tea. This was ultimately the case, even though I did keep an open mind while watching this film. The experience, however, is just far too hollow and director Mike Nichols' cynical look at love just feels surface deep. We all get that love is challenging and messy, but Closer is mostly unengaging and just seems to float by and offer obvious insight into the messy nature of love. That said, there are positives to Closer. As always, it is marvelously well-written for the most part and the acting is terrific. In particular, Natalie Portman steals the show, though Clive Owen turns in a good performance as well.

Showing the romantic lives of Anna (Julia Roberts), Daniel (Jude Law), Alice (Natalie Portman), and Larry (Clive Owen), the film shows the four characters swapping dates pretty consistently. Alice and Daniel sleep together. Daniel and Anna sleep together. Anna and Larry sleep together. Larry and Alice sleep together. Everybody is sleeping with each other in this film. Complementing these scenes are the people finding out their significant other slept with somebody else. Everybody cheats here and the film does have a lot to say about infidelity. For Nichols, infidelity is clearly a common act, but one that needs to be admitted to immediately. Though common, it is still disgusting, but only if you do not admit to it immediately. Case in point, Larry cheats on Anna with a hooker but tells her immediately. Meanwhile, Anna is heavily criticized for sleeping with Daniel for over a year, but never telling Larry until he brought up his infidelity. Moral of the story: cheat on your significant other, but be upfront about it and things will be alright. This is a constant thread as the people consistently want confirmation that their significant others slept with somebody else and then only get mad when they do not admit to it immediately. Other than this, Closer offers insight into how sex can be used as a weapon to hurt others, people's insatiable desire to cheat on their significant other, and how love hurts and can never be enough to keep somebody. Insightful stuff.

Closer is also plagued by its timeline. Jumping forward by years upon years at the drop of a hat, Closer lost me more than once in its timeline. All of a sudden, Daniel and Alice had just met and then, immediately afterward, it was a year later. This is where a large portion of the soullessness I mentioned previously derives from. This desire to speed things along comes at the expense of developing a connection between us and the characters. Yes, there is a lot revealed in the scenes shown, but the process of them falling in and out of love would be a lot more emotional and rewarding if we got to see more than just a highlight reel of their relationship.

This said, Closer has great dialogue. I may mock its relationship insights, but it is hard to deny that its relationships are well created in the moments we are given with them. Here, they can be powerful at times, in particular when Alice and Daniel embrace after he admits to cheating on her with Anna. This scene is very emotional and highlights the tremendous performance by Portman. Throughout, she steals the show and really puts in an emotionally raw performance. No matter the scene, she is the highlight of this film. Similarly, Owen - as a scorned lover and pervert - is brilliant. He has a natural charisma and it really shows here as he able to play such a chilly character with a cool, laid back demeanor throughout. However, he is equally adept at turning it up a notch, such as when he confronts Julia Roberts' Anna about her infidelity. An intense scene, Owen wins the scene by capturing both the anger and the pain that Larry feels in this moment as he presses her for intimate details about Anna and Daniel.

Though disappointing, Closer affords a great opportunity to watch great actors do their thing. Other than a few scenes that were noted above though, Closer lacks the emotion and insight needed to actually pull off a film of this type. None of its takes are revolutionary and instead feel entirely derivative and cliche takes on love, rather than an examination into the lives of these characters.… Expand

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6

ZerpnosMar 5, 2017

Dörtlü ilişkiyi çok güzel bir şekilde işleyen ve günümüzde ki ilişkileri gözler önüne seren bir yapım. Ne istediğini bilmeyen ve gönlü iki farklı kızda olan ve kıskanç olan bir adamın ilk önce striptizciyle çıkıp onu beğenmemesi ardındanDörtlü ilişkiyi çok güzel bir şekilde işleyen ve günümüzde ki ilişkileri gözler önüne seren bir yapım. Ne istediğini bilmeyen ve gönlü iki farklı kızda olan ve kıskanç olan bir adamın ilk önce striptizciyle çıkıp onu beğenmemesi ardından fotoğrafçı anna ile birlikte olup kendisinin ortaya çıkarttığı kıskanç olmayan bir adama iki sevgilisini de kaptırmasını anlatan, izlerken insanı gerçeklere dair üzen ve düşündüren bir film.… Expand

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6

gracjanskiNov 9, 2022

In the end I found there was too much drama and changed feelings. Also the characters changed too drastically, Dan for example was an Alpha in the beginning, he did everything right and in the end he was such a loser, its very unrealistic.In the end I found there was too much drama and changed feelings. Also the characters changed too drastically, Dan for example was an Alpha in the beginning, he did everything right and in the end he was such a loser, its very unrealistic. The actors were great.… Expand

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6

amheretojudgeMar 31, 2018

it's because she doesn't need me..

Closer The relationship is dissected and diagnosed in all aspects which comes off intriguing at first but too much of anything isn't good and in here the writer chews it off way too much to even create anit's because she doesn't need me..

Closer

The relationship is dissected and diagnosed in all aspects which comes off intriguing at first but too much of anything isn't good and in here the writer chews it off way too much to even create an impact on any character let along connect with the the audience. Mike Nichols is brilliant on executing a dramatic scene just as it was anticipated on screen which factors in a lot here. The feature shines on performance level and utterly completes it objective through Natalie Portman, Jude Law, Clive Owen and Julia Robert's who are in their A game. Closer has a gripping screenplay that is filled with witty conversation and competitive arguments that upbeats the score which is carried off by electrifying performances.… Expand

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5

FilipeNetoOct 10, 2021

This romantic drama is one of those movies that leaves us truly at a loss for what to write. I don't think the movie is bad, it has a lot of qualities, but it's tiring because it never gets beyond the conflicts and unresolved issues betweenThis romantic drama is one of those movies that leaves us truly at a loss for what to write. I don't think the movie is bad, it has a lot of qualities, but it's tiring because it never gets beyond the conflicts and unresolved issues between the two main couples. It's like an ongoing relationship discussion.

The film features two couples: on one side we have the ex-American stripper Alice and Daniel, an obituary writer and potential writer; on the other we have the photographer Anna and the doctor Larry. The two couples know each other, by different casualties, and they develop cross-relationships in which the conflict and divergence are permanent. It's a complex story, in which couples switch, separate, mix, fight. It's a smart story, very well written and with excellent premises, even though there is a good deal of improbability in it all: in fact, I can't conceive of anything like this happening in real life.

The best part of this film is the excellent performance of the four main actors: Julia Roberts, Natalie Portman, Jude Law and Clive Owen. We can't say anything bad about any of them, they were up to the challenge put to them, they incorporated their characters wonderfully, and they did a truly remarkable job of dramatic interpretation. They are the ones who make the movie really worthwhile. Of course, they benefited from the good material they received and the really good dialogues they were given. About this, a note of warning: these are dialogues that often use and abuse heavy slang, and this should be taken into account by more sensitive audiences and young people before seeing the film.

Technically, the film has ups and downs... I really liked the cinematography, which looks somewhat ethereal and liquid thanks to a good use of color and contrast, shooting angles and London's low sunlight. The choice of filming locations also seemed happy, and the construction of sets and costumes is within what I expected. However, Mike Nicolls failed when he wasn't able to give more dynamism to the film, which is always lukewarm, slowly cooked, with a tiresome, drowsy rhythm that numbs the audience. The soundtrack doesn't help to overcome the feeling of tiredness and drowsiness, with the choice of the song "Blower's Daughter", in the monotone voice of Damien Rice, proving particularly unhappy.… Expand

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6

DawdlingPoetNov 27, 2021

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. This is a drama film with romantic elements and it covers themes including trust and deceit. I thought it seemed relatively well thought out, with interesting characters and a decent cast (more on that later). It is a little slow to build, plot pace wise but I found it overall a relatively easy watch. I felt there was a sense of oneupmanship (or oneup-woman-ship perhaps may be more to the point) present not long after the film started.

This is very much a 21st century film, with the internet playing a part in the plot. Its quite saucy, as you might imagine. Some scenes were quite amusing - I found myself giggling at times. Some of the scenarios, or plot details, are a bit ludicrous but also quite cringey - if your very much a prude then this film may well not be for you, I'll say that much. The characters all seem to be of an aspirational type - that is, middle class but seemingly keen to climb up to upper class status or higher/upper middle class types, which may put some people off. There is a definite sense of some of the characters seeming brazenly quite selfish but then things don't go as easily as they may hope. I won't elaborate so as not to spoil the film for potential viewers. Its one of those films where the viewer finds themselves trying to guess what will happen next, what someone will do and whether or not others will realise and in which we potentially ponder the ending quite far ahead of time. If your not at all keen on character driven dramas, then, as I've said numerous times before, this may not be for you, as it does consist of a lot of dialogue and not especially exciting scene settings.

Cast wise, the film stars Julia Roberts as Anna, a professional photographer who is a little jaded perhaps. Jude Law plays Dan, a far too casual yet somewhat sharp witted guy, while Natalie Portman plays Alice and Clive Owen plays Larry. There is definitely a meeting of minds, type battle of the wits situation between Dan and Larry, which is quite well portrayed, while Alice comes across as a more sensitive type.

Content wise, the film contains constant, quite strong sex references, some nudity but no full frontal. There is also strong language present and some violence, although nothing especially graphic. Characters are shown both smoking and drinking alcohol at times. The film has been given a 15 rating to reflect this content.

The plot seemed very insular, to a point by which it may feel a bit nauseatingly claustrophobic. I suppose it depends on your personal preferences, what type of films you enjoy and so on, as to whether this would appeal to you. It is definitely unsettling at points, although its hard to explain precisely why.

Its hard to say whether I'd recommend this film or not. It features a good cast and has a few amusing moments, although it isn't for very prudish people and neither will some plot aspects appeal to some, such as the selfish nature of some of the characters and the social class aspect present too perhaps. I thought it was ok - its a decent character driven drama I suppose but I'll leave it up to yourself to decide if its one for you or not.… Expand

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6

gt1967May 7, 2020

I think the phrase emotional rollercoaster was created to describe this movie. The amount of melodrama packed in is quite frankly exhausting. You definitely need to be in touch with your emotions or maybe female to get the most out of thisI think the phrase emotional rollercoaster was created to describe this movie. The amount of melodrama packed in is quite frankly exhausting. You definitely need to be in touch with your emotions or maybe female to get the most out of this film. However it does highlight two things. The acting ability of the cast and the fact that Natalie Portman is one of the most beautiful women to have ever walked this plant.… Expand

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6

giselecalheir0sApr 15, 2020

I was definitely hoping more. I've always seen parts of this movie in some insta accounts, but it was such a disappointment, because it had everything to be awesome and in the end the characters didn't create any tie with me. Although theI was definitely hoping more. I've always seen parts of this movie in some insta accounts, but it was such a disappointment, because it had everything to be awesome and in the end the characters didn't create any tie with me. Although the dialogues and photography are great.… Expand

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