I would describe "Closer" as a hard-edged look at the relationships between men and women. Perhaps quoting a line of dialogue will give you some idea of what to expect: "Have you ever seen a human heart? It looks like a fist wrapped in blood!"
I personally think all four of the movie's major characters are unlikable. Also, many aspects of the film are rather unpleasant, and it left me with a bitter aftertaste. Nevertheless, I found the movie well worth watching.
"Closer" is set in contemporary London and spans a period of four years. There are time gaps in the narrative during which important things happen, and you have to pay attention to what the actors say to understand the characters' changed circumstances. The style of the movie seems to me to be mannered and theatrical.
The story gets underway with Alice (Natalie Portman), a New York stripper, arriving in London and being slightly injured when she steps in front of a moving taxi. A stranger named Dan (Jude Law) comes to her aid, and she moves in with him.
Sometime later, Dan's book based on Alice is being prepared for publication, and when he gets his picture taken for the jacket, he meets the photographer Anna (Julia Roberts). He and Anna exchange a few kisses, but she declines to get involved with him because he is living with Alice.
Later still, Dan is in an Internet chat room called "London Sex Anon," pretending to be Anna. He directs the person he is chatting with to a place where Anna had mentioned spending lots of time, and that's how she meets the dermatologist Larry (Clive Owen). Soon Anna and Larry become a couple, and from there, the movie takes off in directions I didn't see coming.
I would say "Closer" is about how difficult it is for men and women to live together, yet most of them find it even more difficult to not live with someone of the opposite gender. The movie also delves into the related theme of the nasty underbelly of lust and sex.
However, I should perhaps mention that there are no sex scenes in the movie, and very little nudity. To my way of thinking, what keeps the film interesting is the way the four main characters, all of whom are articulate, talk about their troubled relationships and their feelings. For example, Julia Roberts' character Anna paints for her husband a brutally graphic, earthy word picture of a sex session she had with another man. And Natalie Portman's character Alice gets a good line: "Lying is the most fun a girl can have without taking her clothes off, but it's better if you do."
I like the "Closer" soundtrack, and I think it's amusing that music from Mozart's "Così fan tutte" is heard. This is a 1790 opera about two deceitful guys, their fickle fiancées, and switching partners. I believe director Mike Nichols is reminding us that the issues his movie addresses have been around for a long time.
Except for Damien Rice's music video "The Blower's Daughter," the "Closer" DVD provides no bonus materials of any consequence. Below I've detailed all the special features of the "Closer" DVD.
DVD Details:
- Release Date: March 29, 2005
- Feature Run Time: 1 Hours 44 Minutes
- MPAA Rating: R for Sequences of Graphic Sexual Dialogue, Nudity/Sexuality and Language
- Anamorphic Widescreen (1.85:1), Color, Superbit
- English 5.1 Dolby Digital
- English DTS
- French Dolby Surround
- English Subtitles
- French Subtitles
- Music Video: Damien Rice's "The Blower's Daughter" (4 min. 54 sec.)
- Theatrical Trailer
