Painful study of relationships
Added 1/16/2010
Truly the unique movie that has thoroughly divided audiences, Closer is either hated or loved. I tend towards the latter although I didn't love it. I can, however, appreciate the many qualities the movie has.
Let me start by taking on the many critics who claim, with stunning arrogance, that the movie is unrealistic, or that these things never happen, or that these people are so vile that the movie isn't worth the time to watch. You couldn't be farther from the truth. First of all, the events these characters go through certainly do happen, even if comprehending such stark brutality makes you dangerously self-conscious and uncomfortable. It's one thing to dislike a movie because you found it distasteful; it's another to try to cover all of human experience with the narrow blanket made up of your own limited life and stifled imagination. Secondly, the utterly repellent nature of their actions doesn't make the movie unworthy of the time one spends watching it, even if there are terribly painful moments to endure.
The four characters that make up this intense drama are cold blooded, unforgiving, self-destructive, selfish, and unable to distinguish between love and her twisted counter-ego, obsession. Clive Owen is the best part of this movie, from the moment we meet him through his confrontation with Jude Law, he is a boiling, sarcastic, and ruthless mess of a man. Matter of fact, no one in this movie is very likable, even the manipulative Alice, who from her name on down to her perfectly fitting occupation, rarely plays people honestly. She tries to play herself as this wounded victim, but she has more on the ball than she's given credit for. Witness the scene at the photography studio. Roberts and Law have the far less sympathetic roles to play; and Roberts plays hers emotionally detached and self-loathingly. Law is the romantic fool who doesn't know what he wants because he is emotionally immature.
Closer is a movie that I would not recommend to the easily offended, the people who are uncomfortable with frank sexual discussion, or those who don't enjoy character studies with no real plot. For those of you, I'm sure there's something on Fox News Channel you'd enjoy much more than this movie. Just don't take a wrong turn and uncover Bill O'Reilly's Jenna Jameson collection.
I would definitely recommend it for struggling couples, those contemplating divorce, or singles who never seem to be able to make relationships work. There are plenty of lessons these tortured characters can teach and I'm guessing that you'll see some of yourself in these four and their repeated mistakes. If you want to know the hell of a relationship's demise, or see how not knowing yourself handicaps your ability to successfully love and be loved in return, put on Closer, hold your breath, and open your eyes wide.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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Time has only driven me further away from this film...
Added 1/7/2010
While some films really get stronger and stronger with each viewing, I can't say that that is the case with `Closer'. When I first saw the film I was totally ravaged by it and swore it a near-perfect masterpiece. It just really spoke to me, with its blunt and harsh depictions of the realities of relationships. The performances just wowed me in every sense of the word because I felt that bitterness and that anger and that passion.
Then I saw it again...and again.
As time goes by and this film turns over again and again in my head I begin to see flaws I didn't notice on the outset. Especially when you compare this with the similarly themed yet drastically different `We Don't Live Here Anymore' (which was released the same year), `Closer' begins to feel stagnant.
I'll get to that in a minute.
The films premise is rather simple. Dan is a flirtatious and charming man dating Alice, a stripper who is trying to feel a part of herself that has been missing for a long time. Dan is attempting to become a novelist. He meets and instantly falls for Anna, a photographer, but she isn't interested in a relationship that isn't exclusive. So, in an attempt to seek revenge, Dan ends up sending Larry (a dermatologist) after Anna, only to have his plan backfire when the two end up hitting it off.
Oh the twisted web we weave.
`Closer' is never tame, and it never holds back from completely wiping our faces in the dirt that has become of their relationships ("he tastes like you, only sweeter" is still my favorite line from any movie in the past decade), but I think that in all its brave audacity one finds its biggest flaw. `Closer' feels rather one-note. There is no real variation of emotional complexity. This is just a very evil film. The performances, while seemingly powerful on the outset, lack any real longevity for me because they simply don't carry with them the range of emotion needed to make that long lasting impression. All four actors put in some amazing work, but it's the characters that don't feel complete and so their performances don't have that well-rounded quality to them. They are all very good at being angry and destructive.
But, there is always Natalie Portman. Say what you will about her lack of talent (the girl really has put in some `stinky' work during her career) but between this and `Cold Mountain', she proved that she has a lot of potential. Maybe it was being given the only character that seemingly comes full-circle, but when all is said and done, it is Alice that I remember most of all. While Clive Owen and Julia Roberts (Roberts is also remarkable astute in her performance and really elevates her characters lack of a real arc) may have the most volatile and explosive and memorable scenes in the film, it is Alice as a character (and thus Portman as an actress) that we will remember most, because her presence is so haunting.
I still get shivers whenever I hear `Blowers Daughter'.
In the end I still feel that `Closer' is a very good film, it just lacks that extra layer in order to achieve brilliance. It comes on very strong, and so you initial reaction can be very deceiving (this is brash, this is brave, this is crushing; it must be marvelous!), but over time its lack of real emotional depth leaves it feeling rather shallow. I highly recommend `We Don't Live Here Anymore' over this film, but as you can see, a B grade (which is what I am giving this film) is still very worth your time.
2 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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Always wanted to have it
Added 9/30/2009
When I first watched this movie I loved it, so I got myself a copy.
1 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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Remarkably Awkward
Added 7/11/2009
The best thing about this DVD turned out to be the "extras". Damien Rice performs the film's theme sound "The Blower's Daughter", a beautiful MTV type clip set on an ocean beach. Damien serenades a beautiful woman, with "unrequited love" written all over it.
The four actors in this DVD are great on their own, in other films. Closer, however, proved to me that great actors can deliver stilted, awkward lines if a script is poorly written enough, and if the direction also adds salt (to the wound). These four very handsomely, beautiful people end up acting out a "modern love story" so neurotic that the-new-twist-on-the-love story just fizzles out. It wasn't so bad that I stopped watching it, though, I did laugh at the unbelievably artificial lines.
0 out of 1 people found this helpful.
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My favorite movie of all time.
Added 5/21/2009
When asked what my favororite movie of all time is, I always name this movie. I then explain it is a drama, at which point my male friends stop listening, because they assume "drama" means "romance."
While I would possibly call Closer a love story, I doubt you'll ever manage to find a less ROMANTIC love story.
Cheating, lies and secrets are the heart of this story, but as the lives of the main characters are followed I am captivated every second.
My favorite character was Natalie Portman's Alice. I love her. She is an extremely interesting character.
Actually, they're all pretty interesting. Or perhaps what is interesting is the way the characters are woven together.
Whatever they did when they made Closer, they did it right.
If you're in the mood for a light, fun romance, don't put this DVD in.
If you're in the mood for a more dramatic but honest take on the games "love" plays on us, definitely watch Closer!
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
|
Painful study of relationships
Added 1/16/2010
Truly the unique movie that has thoroughly divided audiences, Closer is either hated or loved. I tend towards the latter although I didn't love it. I can, however, appreciate the many qualities the movie has.
Let me start by taking on the many critics who claim, with stunning arrogance, that the movie is unrealistic, or that these things never happen, or that these people are so vile that the movie isn't worth the time to watch. You couldn't be farther from the truth. First of all, the events these characters go through certainly do happen, even if comprehending such stark brutality makes you dangerously self-conscious and uncomfortable. It's one thing to dislike a movie because you found it distasteful; it's another to try to cover all of human experience with the narrow blanket made up of your own limited life and stifled imagination. Secondly, the utterly repellent nature of their actions doesn't make the movie unworthy of the time one spends watching it, even if there are terribly painful moments to endure.
The four characters that make up this intense drama are cold blooded, unforgiving, self-destructive, selfish, and unable to distinguish between love and her twisted counter-ego, obsession. Clive Owen is the best part of this movie, from the moment we meet him through his confrontation with Jude Law, he is a boiling, sarcastic, and ruthless mess of a man. Matter of fact, no one in this movie is very likable, even the manipulative Alice, who from her name on down to her perfectly fitting occupation, rarely plays people honestly. She tries to play herself as this wounded victim, but she has more on the ball than she's given credit for. Witness the scene at the photography studio. Roberts and Law have the far less sympathetic roles to play; and Roberts plays hers emotionally detached and self-loathingly. Law is the romantic fool who doesn't know what he wants because he is emotionally immature.
Closer is a movie that I would not recommend to the easily offended, the people who are uncomfortable with frank sexual discussion, or those who don't enjoy character studies with no real plot. For those of you, I'm sure there's something on Fox News Channel you'd enjoy much more than this movie. Just don't take a wrong turn and uncover Bill O'Reilly's Jenna Jameson collection.
I would definitely recommend it for struggling couples, those contemplating divorce, or singles who never seem to be able to make relationships work. There are plenty of lessons these tortured characters can teach and I'm guessing that you'll see some of yourself in these four and their repeated mistakes. If you want to know the hell of a relationship's demise, or see how not knowing yourself handicaps your ability to successfully love and be loved in return, put on Closer, hold your breath, and open your eyes wide.
1 out of 1 people found this helpful.
|
Time has only driven me further away from this film...
Added 1/7/2010
While some films really get stronger and stronger with each viewing, I can't say that that is the case with `Closer'. When I first saw the film I was totally ravaged by it and swore it a near-perfect masterpiece. It just really spoke to me, with its blunt and harsh depictions of the realities of relationships. The performances just wowed me in every sense of the word because I felt that bitterness and that anger and that passion.
Then I saw it again...and again.
As time goes by and this film turns over again and again in my head I begin to see flaws I didn't notice on the outset. Especially when you compare this with the similarly themed yet drastically different `We Don't Live Here Anymore' (which was released the same year), `Closer' begins to feel stagnant.
I'll get to that in a minute.
The films premise is rather simple. Dan is a flirtatious and charming man dating Alice, a stripper who is trying to feel a part of herself that has been missing for a long time. Dan is attempting to become a novelist. He meets and instantly falls for Anna, a photographer, but she isn't interested in a relationship that isn't exclusive. So, in an attempt to seek revenge, Dan ends up sending Larry (a dermatologist) after Anna, only to have his plan backfire when the two end up hitting it off.
Oh the twisted web we weave.
`Closer' is never tame, and it never holds back from completely wiping our faces in the dirt that has become of their relationships ("he tastes like you, only sweeter" is still my favorite line from any movie in the past decade), but I think that in all its brave audacity one finds its biggest flaw. `Closer' feels rather one-note. There is no real variation of emotional complexity. This is just a very evil film. The performances, while seemingly powerful on the outset, lack any real longevity for me because they simply don't carry with them the range of emotion needed to make that long lasting impression. All four actors put in some amazing work, but it's the characters that don't feel complete and so their performances don't have that well-rounded quality to them. They are all very good at being angry and destructive.
But, there is always Natalie Portman. Say what you will about her lack of talent (the girl really has put in some `stinky' work during her career) but between this and `Cold Mountain', she proved that she has a lot of potential. Maybe it was being given the only character that seemingly comes full-circle, but when all is said and done, it is Alice that I remember most of all. While Clive Owen and Julia Roberts (Roberts is also remarkable astute in her performance and really elevates her characters lack of a real arc) may have the most volatile and explosive and memorable scenes in the film, it is Alice as a character (and thus Portman as an actress) that we will remember most, because her presence is so haunting.
I still get shivers whenever I hear `Blowers Daughter'.
In the end I still feel that `Closer' is a very good film, it just lacks that extra layer in order to achieve brilliance. It comes on very strong, and so you initial reaction can be very deceiving (this is brash, this is brave, this is crushing; it must be marvelous!), but over time its lack of real emotional depth leaves it feeling rather shallow. I highly recommend `We Don't Live Here Anymore' over this film, but as you can see, a B grade (which is what I am giving this film) is still very worth your time.
2 out of 2 people found this helpful.
|
Always wanted to have it
Added 9/30/2009
When I first watched this movie I loved it, so I got myself a copy.
1 out of 2 people found this helpful.
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