Marc
12-07-2004, 03:40 PM
Over the weekend I saw Mike Nicholas new film, Closer. It's a hard movie to describe but I think Roger Ebert summed it up best: "Fascinated by the game of love, seduced by seduction itself, they play at sincere, truthful relationships which are lies in almost every respect, except their desire to sleep with each other."
A lot of articles are speculating that the four actors (Jude Law, Julia Roberts, Clive Owen and Natalie Portman) all have a good chance of getting Oscar nods this year. In my opinion, Natalie Portman is the most impressive of the cast and really shines in this film. She is the one you can really see struggling internally.
There are a lot of great funny moments in this film, but Closer is anything but a comedy. It's a dark tale of self loathing, self pity and self discovery. Two couples walked out when I saw it because, I presume, the unflinching dialogue is raw.
Although the film is dark, and none of the characters are particularily likeable, by the end you have witnessed their growth and have some hope that they will improve as people.
This is a film I highly recommend. But don't expect to come out feeling all warm inside.