What a depressing movie Mike Nichols’s Closer was. And this is coming from a guy who loves this genre. But I’m not a fan of movies where all of the lead characters intentionally hurt other people just so they can feel better about themselves, just like I’m not a fan of people hurting other people intentionally in real life. But this movie was all of that and a bag of chips. I THINK I knew that was going on. I remember seeing previews for this way back in 2004 and thinking that this was not a movie that I had any interest in seeing. It made me think of the Woody Harrelson/Demi Moore movie Indecent Proposal for some reason, a film that I saw in theater at age 17 that I had no business seeing as a 17-year-old. Talk about a couple of movies that destroy the sanctity of marriage. So while this movie held my interest, primarily because of the actors involved, it’s a movie I’ll remember for a while that I wish I could forget instantly.
I think Mike Nichols, who has directed 22 feature-length films as of 2013, never has been able to recapture the success of his first three movies (1966’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf, 1967’s The Graduate, 1970’s Catch-22). Now, if those three movies are the first three of your career, there is no shame in not reaching that level of success again. And it’s not like he’s directed a bunch of garbage. I’m not his biggest fan, but I liked 1988’s Working Girl and 1991’s Regarding Henry. The man does a great job delving into different subject matters in his films, but I think his career has been a bit overrated. Nonetheless, he can attract A-list actors to his films. He did just that on Closer, landing Julia Roberts (Erin Brokovich, Pretty Woman), who, in 2004, was Hollywood’s leading woman, as well as Jude Law (The Talented Mr. Ripley, Cold Mountain), Natalie Portman (Black Swan, Brothers), and the then lesser-known at the time Clive Owen (Children of Men, Inside Man) who did earn a Best Supporting Actor Academy Award in this film that did vault him from a B-list actor to an A-list one. The movie is based on a play penned by Patrick Marber. I didn’t know this at first, but after about 30 minutes of the film, I began to wonder if it was based on a play because it felt like I was watching a play on screen. Sometimes this works for me (August: Osage County), but often it does not (Carnage).
In any case, this movie revolves around the relationship between all four of its leads. The film takes place over four years. We are never always told how far in advance we jump in each scene, but it isn’t difficult to figure out after a couple of minutes of dialogue. None of the four characters have ever met at the film’s start. Dan (Law) and Alice (Portman) meet in London by chance, and the other characters are brought into the fold due to this interaction. Alice is a stripper who has fled New York to London to escape a terrible relationship. They strike up a relationship, and as a result of what happens between them, Dan later meets Anna (Roberts), to who he has an immediate physical attraction even though he is with Alice. Shortly after that, Anna later meets Larry (again by chance), and the two begin a relationship.
The character development is slow, but that’s what it needs to be. It’s important to know the dynamics of each relationship before introducing each additional character and their relationship with one of the initially introduced characters. It’s a dialogue-driven movie (as you would expect from a film based on a play). The dialogue is very adult, intense, and sexual. This movie isn’t for anybody under the age of 17 (really, probably closer to 20). This population would not enjoy this movie anyway. They would be bored by this movie, and the situations displayed on screen would be so far over their heads because they would not have yet had the chance to experience these various levels of a relationship.
What hit me the most in this very unpleasant movie experience was the amount of selfishness and betrayal of each of its four characters. It seemed like each character was out to do what was best for them regardless of its implications on others. Did they experience remorse after some of these actions? They did. But it wasn’t enough to stop them in the moment…even when they knew better…even when they were advised of the errors of their ways. Their actions were based on personal gain more than anything else. They aimed to fulfill themselves regardless of its implications on others, even those they claimed to love. The “love” in this movie was nothing more than the physical intimacy component of love. Outside of that need, these characters were very, very hollow. They could not connect emotionally. When you talk about the fight or flight decision people experience when the going gets tough, it seems like each of these characters was much more willing to flee than to fight for what they were losing. They were very, very shallow human beings who, in the right light, could come across as charming and likable. However, as interesting as each of them is in the physical component of sex, they often appear very distant and insecure when not in that moment. Love is the pursuit, the conquest, and the ownership of another human being. When characters feel like they control a situation, all is grand. But the second the other person does something they don’t like, they lack the skills to deal with it. Each character deals with it a little differently (the men react similarly to the woman), but they seem to spiral out of control when they aren’t in control of the situation. Each character can ooze confidence at one point in the story and be vulnerable the next. Sometimes they feel so out of control of the situation that they lack the ability to even strong together two rational thoughts in a row.
It’s hard to say who gave the best performance because all four were terrific. I thought Law’s Dan was the least likable, and Portman’s Alice the one you root for the most. If you’d like to talk about the reasons why at some point, please feel free to contact me. I don’t want to divulge my logic here for fear of spoiling the movie for those who have yet to see it. It’s hard to recommend this movie (even though I did end up giving it favorable marks below). The characters are sometimes so disrespectful to one another, the men treating the woman as objects and vice-versa. With each character out to get what they want, it’s a difficult couple of hours to sit through. The lashing out at one another and demanding the most descriptive of sexual details was uncomfortable, and that was with me watching it alone. I could only imagine how bad it might have been while watching it with someone else. I’d skip this movie. With that said, I’d miss the play, too, if it ever comes to your town.
Plot 8/10
Character Development 9/10
Character Chemistry 9/10
Acting 10/10
Screenplay 8/10
Directing 8/10
Cinematography 7.5/10
Sound 7.5/10
Hook and Reel 8/10 (it did draw me in and kept me interested even if I wasn’t a massive fan of what I was seeing)
Universal Relevance 8.5/10 (unfortunately, these situations occur far more frequently than we wish that they do 1) We are tempted by another 2) We think the grass is always greener on the other side)
82.5% – I’m starting to feel like Roger Ebert during the last decade of my life by giving higher scores to movies that I didn’t enjoy
Movies You Might Like If You Liked This Movie
- Little Children
- The Painted Veil
- By the Sea
- Take This Waltz
- Eyes Wide Shut