Closer Movie Reviews

I love Alice, my favourite character in the movie. True but intense, beautiful and mysterious. This is an interesting movie. A big city where everybody is searching love, get confused with beauty, brain and truth. Dan feels he is lucky to find Alice but can't keep his promise to be faithful for long and get involved with beautiful Anna. Still seems Dan doesn't want to loose everything. Anna is creative, can see love but can't touch it, may be her fate or decision. Alice is courageous with her bold attitude but knows how to handle with her vulnerable side. Clive comes eventually and controls his life sharply. Get Anna but still closer isn't enough, it was never.

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Two disciples were returning to their ashram,and were about to ford a river when they heard a request for help. A beautiful young woman drew near and asked whether she could get help in crossing the river which was too deep and swift for her to wade through. One of the disciples hesitated while the other agreed and carried her across the waters. On arriving at the other bank, she thanked them and continued on her way. As the two disciples were reaching the ashram, one broke the silence and asked his companion reprovingly "How could you agree to help her like that? It is forbidden for us to make such kind of contact". To which the other replied "My dear friend, I only carried her across the river but you have carried her in your mind till here".

Mike Nichols is a specialist in creating cinematic showcases for the raging rancour in man-woman relationships. Right from "Who's afraid of Virginia Wolf ?"(1966) and even briefly in a terror-themed movie like "Wolf" ('94),he is drawn to explore this strife-'n'-friction . Closer ,set in modern-day London, charts the emotional and sexual merry-go-round of four young protagonists- all played with panache by Clive Owen,Julia Roberts,Natalie Portmann and Jude Law. The dialogue, reprised by Patrick Marber from his award-winning play, has a mean sparkle - it is the knife which rips and splices together this bloody good story.

This story has no shame in depicting what it wants- as befits a disscetion, a sardonic glossy autopsy. Larry (Clive Owen) is a dermatologist with a tough hide,who identifies himself as a "clinical observer of the human carnival".He's bought his own two-level modernistic home in London and is all set for the good life.Courtesy a racy pornographic internet chat ,typed with hilarious flair and set to a racing orchestra in the background, Larry is tricked by Dan into meeting Anna. The encounter proves fortuitous for Larry as he come to regard and possess Anna as his partner for good. He is not averse to committing a serious moral transgression, and owns up to it with a half-smiling,partly ashamed ,fully honest face. But when he realizes that the tables are turned against him, he erupts into a bullying volcano. Clive Owen superby embodies Larry who becomes the smiling, snarling, brutally vengeful tiger of this story. On an early occasion when the rug is pulled out from beneath his feet ,and on another when his lady is being propositioned by her ex-flame,he wears a look of benign amusement and reacts in good humour. But when things heat up and his mating territory is squarely trespassed,Larry lashes out mercilessly. It does not matter to him whether its his loved lone or someone else who's in the firing line. He's man enough to do exactly what he wants, but not man enough to forgive "outsiders". One of the many examples of Larry's supreme self-confidence is seen in a scene where Anna says "You're wonderful!" and his quick soft reply is " Don't ever forget that !"

Anna, whose role is played with delicate elegance by Julia Roberts, is both a casualty and survivor of this story. She is soft soken, a lady capable of giving full emotional reciprocation and an artiste who lands art exhibitions for her photographic portraits. On one instance when Larry is preening ,she gently retorts" You seem more like the cat that got the cream, you can stop licking yourself"-this is the most aggresive her words ever become. Later,when she is the object of far more vile and humiliating treatment, she does not find the trenchancy of heart to wage a verbal counter-fire. In her professional career ,she seems to have the talent and discipline for success, but her personal life is scarred by the weakness, anger and conceit of those who desire her. She eventually comes across as a talented,attractive woman of cool (not cold) demeanour, who needs the anchor of a strong-hearted partner to make it through.

Dan,an assistant writer of obituaries in newspapers, comes across right from the start as articulate sensitive and intelligent. He wants a fresh start to his previous relationship with Anna, never mind the fact that she's moved ahead and married Larry. He has no qualms either of starting a relationship with another woman- Alice. Dan doesn't draw the line between a sacrifice for stability and the lure of a new relationship; between a steady forward gaze and the nagging urge to rake up the past. And ends up paying a ruinous price for all this... After the bruising rounds of the block he takes here,one hopes that he will develop that extra sinew of heart that fully makes a man. It is easy to overlook how adeptly Jude Law essays Dan's pusillanimity.

Natalie Portmann brilliantly captures all the anguish and coquettish flair of Alice- a beautiful young woman who hails from a nihilistic past. Her background may very well have cast a permanent miasma over how she sees and reacts to people in personal life. And it becomes her misfortune to be courted by Dan at that juncture in his life. She appears a straightforward person, but when Anna states this,Larry corrects her ,suggesting that Alice may be putting on an act. Alice laments and beseeches grievously when her trust is betrayed but moves on soon to play the shamelessly wicked seductress. She remains one of the more inscrutable characters in this transcontinental "La Ronde". It is her that Mike Nicols selects to be the cynosure of the brilliantly photographed,beautifully scored ending sequence of the story. It is an inspired finish to this movie- one wonders whether she emerges more disillusioned or if she still nurtures a sliver of optimism.

There's a pattern in this movie- a moment of kindness occurs,a brief spell of emotional warmth, only to be burned by a succeding spew of hatred. All this venom and hurtful waves would have made for a very heavy-headed ,tough-to-watch narrative, but the movie is constructed and edited with an easy poise, a smooth flow that belies and undercuts all the festering turbulence. The music is minimalistic. Stephen Goldblatt's cinematography is refreshing to behold- the cool elegant visuals form a subtle counterpoint to the raw emotional climate. The dialogue has a naughty glint of wit,a dash of naked honesty, and a fair amount of super-strong unprintable stuff. If words could bleed, then the encounter between Larry and Anna in their home could rank as one of the bloodiest knock-outs in cinema.

I wondered why Nicols ,after all these years ,should go to the trouble of making an elaborately crafted film that again displays a disturbing portrait of wounded partners.He may have liked the idea of composing a swansong in a visually alluring 21st century setting with a young,less rigid, more hopeful cast of players. He may have also wanted to emphasize an edict found in a stray but crucial line of prescription that doctor dispenses to his unbidden visitor towards the end of the film

By its shameless honesty in showing the underbelly of romantic relationships, by the powerhouse performances of its gloriously flawed players, and by its sophisticated depiction of savage desire, Closerbrings together its shards and velvet to form a modern masterpiece.The film's tagline says "If you believe in love at first sight,you never stop looking".Like the movie's title,that is as cynical as it is promising.

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Relationships - They are completely dependent on TRUST and Trust is easy to break, difficult to earn and very hard to maintain.

I saw this because Vee had recommended it. I was going through DVD’s in landmark and picked this one up as recollecting story told by Vee. I was thinking and thinking after watching this flick and the thought was… LOVE – Does it really exist? Or We are living in world of mere by chance attractions and where infidelity is very very casual…

.::. Strangers – Well verse with each other .::.

This is story of Alice (Natalie Portman) and Dan (Jude Law) who met each other while crossing a street in London. They are worlds apart, he writes obituaries and she is a Stripper. But instant attraction plays very important role in bringing them together.

It’s been a year and Dan has written a book on life of Alice. Anna (Julia Roberts) is a well known photographer and she is doing still snaps of Dan for his book. They share a casual kiss during the shoot but Anna backs off as soon as she realizes Dan is seeing Alice. The conversation is over heard by Alice and is pretty disappointed with Dan’s behavior. Dan on other hand is madly in love with Anna and keeps on asking for her love…

Dan sets up Anna with Larry (Clive Owen) during vulgar chat session. But the plan turns on him only when Larry and Anna start dating. He starts pleading Anna to be his.

.::. Love, Lust and Relations .::.

1 year later – Anna is married to Larry but…. Dan is not out of the picture. She is having an extra marital affair with him. She tells the entire story to Dan and leaves the place. Same day Dan tells Alice about his relationship with Anna. Alice cannot take it and she leave the Dan.

Few months Later, Dan and Anna are staying together and planning to get married. She is still not divorced as Larry has refused to sign divorce papers. She meets Larry and asks him for the divorce. He puts forward a strange condition and then….

What happens after that is better left for watching…

.::. Love .::.

Only one person in this movie who understands or really feels love is Alice. Her pain, suffering, love for Dan and her insecurity when she comes to know about his affair is fantastic.

Natalie Portman has given wonderful performance especially in the scene when she confronts Anna and Pub scene with Larry. Her eyes have done wonders here.

.::. Selfish .::.

The most selfish character in the entire movie is Dan. This character is driven only by own needs and his theories about life. For him his love should be only his and she cannot betray him even if they were not together. Kind of over stretched but then in few scenes really very natural.  Jude Law has done good job but sometimes he seems very shallow in his emotions

.::. Helpless .::.

This is Anna. Her Character is majorly based on emotions and confusion about what she wants in life. Her love for Larry is not understandable. Her decisions to get married to Larry, having affair with Dan and even sleeping with Larry for divorce makes you wonder what is driving this female? She seems equally confused and helpless. Julia Roberts gives a great performance but she could have done better as her character is very very complex.

.::. Ego .::.

This is Larry. He is literally a Cave man. Only drive he has is sex. He wants Anna back in his life at any cost. His condition in front of her before divorce, his conversation with Alice in club and the scene near the climax with Dan gives fair amount of grey shades to this character. Clive own had actually got under the skin of this character and made me hate him and also love him at the same time.

.::. My Verdict .::.

I loved it. The powerful performance and the very tight script of the movie keeps you bonded to movie. Every scene is wonderfully captured. The best part of this movie is the facial expressions. Every one has done amazing work with their eyes.

We all have seen happy endings and Love sacrifices in the movies and loved them Try and see a selfish take of love where only ME or I stands out. How it changes the complete outlook of life and love can be seen from this movie.

Please do watch it….

--- Seera

PS: I was gayab on MS from last 3 months… Hope you guys have not forgotten me… :)

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“Lying is the most fun a girl can have without taking her clothes off, " "but it’s better if you do”. Natalie Portman said this to Clive Owen. And I was like, what does that supposed to mean? I mean, literal meaning can be figured out easily but if you see the movie and in the circumstances she uttered, it did not make sense until the climax.

Closer starring Natalie Portman (Alice), Clive Owen (Larry), Julia Roberts (Anna) and Jude Law (Dan) is a contemporary take on relationships, love, lust, infidelity et al.  It is a tragic tale of these four individuals who are interlinked to each other in ways they themselves sometimes are not aware of.

Closer

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Natalie and Clive almost won all the awards for supporting actors for this whilst the lead pair Julia and Jude did not win even one award.

Dan, a budding writer who currently writes obituaries meets Alice, a stripper in a freak way on the street. They get this thing going soon after.

One year later: Dan is about to publish is his first book which he has penned down based on Alice’s life. To advertise it, he gets photographed by Anna, a professional photographer. While at it, they happen to share a kiss which Anna felt was wrong on her part as soon as she comes to know Dan has a partner in Alice. Alice comes to the shoot and happens to overhear Dan’s pleadings to Anna for a romantic link up which Anna now knowing the presence of Alice in his life blatantly refuses. Alice tells Anna that she overheard their talks and starts sobbing and the moment gets captured by Anna.

One year later: Alice is still with Dan while he stalks Anna for a whole year. Anna avoids Dan, so in weird ways of taking out your frustration Dan enters a Sex Chat Room on internet and meets a doctor Larry. He tells Larry that his name is Anna and flirts with him while telling him to meet her (him) at the aquarium. Dan knew quite well that Anna frequents aquarium. But what he did not know that this act of his will bring together Larry and Anna forever. It’s quite interesting part of the movie.

Few months later: Anna is having exhibition of her photographs and one among them is Alice’s sobbing one. Dan and Alice come for it. Dan once again tries to convince Anna for a fling. This time she agrees but at the same time also goes onto marry Larry. However, Dan and Anna one day confess to their respective partners. Alice leaves Dan and becomes a stripper again. And heartbroken Larry sees her at the club. But she pretends to be someone else and not Alice. There she says “Lying is the most fun a girl can have without taking her clothes off, " "but it’s better if you do” to Larry. Larry asks for a one night stand with her.

Meanwhile, Dan asks Anna to ask for divorce from Larry. Larry agrees on the condition that she has to sleep with him once. She gives in. Dan comes to know. Dan ditches her, she goes back to Larry. Dan is all alone. Dan goes to Larry to ask Anna back. Instead Larry tells him about Alice’s whereabouts. And also tells him he slept with her. Now I end this here. All I can say here is at the end of this chase and desire no one was happy. Not that there wasn’t a love. Love indeed was there but they realized it later when everything went kaput.

The movie is not just about who slept with whom and how many times? It indeed gets puzzling yet it is like a puzzle you would like to get involved in. You do not have to rake your brains off to identify with the situations these people find themselves in. We all come across these kinds of situations and the movie teaches you what not to do. I mean, come on. How much does it take to stick to someone who loves you?

I have chosen three movies for my Love trilogy. ‘If Only’ being first followed by ‘Closer’. Soon third will follow. Let me share few more things and what better day than this V-day. So, taking it forward from ‘If Only’…

That heart wrenching moment which came courtesy someone you loved. Why does it become so difficult to take control of one’s life then? Those memories only make you weep more. Weep so much that it hurts. Soon that loneliness, that empty feeling becomes a way of life. When you think you are limping back to normalcy, one flash and its staring at you in your face again. That stab of pain which you got used to by now, leaves a fresh wound. You realize no matter what you do, it shall stay.  How can one person leave your world so shaken? All coz that person meant the world to you? You hate yourself for either having let someone have so much control over you or for not letting yourself love that person the way you should have and he/she deserved. In that cold isolation you decide enough is enough. Not easy, you admit. But heck, you take on life. A little wise, a little bruised. A tad incomplete, but whole nevertheless. For life moves on. Yes, it will but the loss will be there always and a part of your heart will be empty always. I do not want to end it in a sad tone, but then thats what most of us end up doing with our loved ones. On this day, I wish the better sense prevails. Here is what Ghalib had to say

Dehar me nakshe wafa wajah-e-tasalli na hua Ye wo lafz hai jo sharminda-e -mani na hua

The picture of love has never been a cause of satisfaction to anybody. nobody has been satisfied wid love how much ever they do or get. Love itself has been so great that nobody has ever been able to do it completely. And this is one word/feeling which has not been insulted by an equivalent.

I had forgotten the rest of the lines. Thanks Ava for completing this...

Kis se mehrumiye kismet ki shikayat kije

Hum ne chaha tha ki mar jaayen toh wo bhi na hua

Maine chaha ki andohe wafa se chootoon

Wo sitamgar mere marne par bhi raazi na hua

Who can I complain to about my lack of luck. I made my last wish-- that death should come. And I remained deprived even of that. I tried to escape from the sorrows of love, but my tormentor wouldn’t even let me die.

P.S. My fifth review in a row for which topic had to be MouthPaded.

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