Closer (2004)
Can this be love?
The praises are never-ending, but award-giving bodies have shown little love for Closer when it came to picking last year's best films.
The movie's director, Mike Nichols, was among the hottest personalities during the 60s; his first two features, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) and The Graduate (1967), are now considered masterpieces. But things have not been the same for the German-born Nichols after his disastrous adaptation of Joseph Heller's classic novel Catch-22 in 1969.
He has churned out Working Girl, Wolf and Primary Colors in the last two decades. They're not bad, but they're also not par with his earlier works. Then Angels in America came along and Closer followed.
Many films about love make us bubbly and sentimental, but this is not the case with Nichols' latest, as it is a brutal and sharp look on love among four individuals. Themes like this are a dime a dozen in French Cinema, so it doesn't seem as fresh in the eyes of film buffs. However, not a few will relate to the film, as it's about wanting and repulsing someone so much. Admit it or not, that's the enigma that is love.
Closer revolves around Anna (Julia Roberts), a photographer; Dan (Jude Law), an obituary writer aspiring to become a novelist; Alice (Natalie Portman), a Lolita-like stripper; and Larry (Clive Owen), a dermatologist. Their lives get tangled and bruised in a web of rosy promises and betrayals. The film spans four years, but the events of these four characters seem eternal such that the film leaves a searing mark as the end credits roll.
Closer is adapted from Patrick Marber's play (he also wrote the screen version). It's not hard to guess that its impact is great on the big screen, as unfurling emotions are magnified. Without a doubt, the performance of the cast is what makes the film a must-see. If an Oscar category for Best Ensemble exists, it would've been a shoo-in. Julia Roberts gave one of her most memorable performances. And while Jude Law was exemplary, overexposure has hurt his chances for recognition (he appeared in six films in 2004).
But the movie's defining moments are turned in by Alice and Larry. As Alice, Natalie Portman is a wonder; she's innocent and vulnerable on some instances only to turn manipulative and callous the next, while a bundle of emotions swirl wildly in Clive Owen's face in his pathetic but heartbreaking portrayal of Larry (Trivia: Owen played Dan in the stage production).
When all's been said and done, one wonders if that's what love is all about. Strangely enough, it all seems to rings so true.
(First published in Inquirer Libre on April 5, 2005)
The praises are never-ending, but award-giving bodies have shown little love for Closer when it came to picking last year's best films.
The movie's director, Mike Nichols, was among the hottest personalities during the 60s; his first two features, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) and The Graduate (1967), are now considered masterpieces. But things have not been the same for the German-born Nichols after his disastrous adaptation of Joseph Heller's classic novel Catch-22 in 1969.
He has churned out Working Girl, Wolf and Primary Colors in the last two decades. They're not bad, but they're also not par with his earlier works. Then Angels in America came along and Closer followed.
Many films about love make us bubbly and sentimental, but this is not the case with Nichols' latest, as it is a brutal and sharp look on love among four individuals. Themes like this are a dime a dozen in French Cinema, so it doesn't seem as fresh in the eyes of film buffs. However, not a few will relate to the film, as it's about wanting and repulsing someone so much. Admit it or not, that's the enigma that is love.
Closer revolves around Anna (Julia Roberts), a photographer; Dan (Jude Law), an obituary writer aspiring to become a novelist; Alice (Natalie Portman), a Lolita-like stripper; and Larry (Clive Owen), a dermatologist. Their lives get tangled and bruised in a web of rosy promises and betrayals. The film spans four years, but the events of these four characters seem eternal such that the film leaves a searing mark as the end credits roll.
Closer is adapted from Patrick Marber's play (he also wrote the screen version). It's not hard to guess that its impact is great on the big screen, as unfurling emotions are magnified. Without a doubt, the performance of the cast is what makes the film a must-see. If an Oscar category for Best Ensemble exists, it would've been a shoo-in. Julia Roberts gave one of her most memorable performances. And while Jude Law was exemplary, overexposure has hurt his chances for recognition (he appeared in six films in 2004).
But the movie's defining moments are turned in by Alice and Larry. As Alice, Natalie Portman is a wonder; she's innocent and vulnerable on some instances only to turn manipulative and callous the next, while a bundle of emotions swirl wildly in Clive Owen's face in his pathetic but heartbreaking portrayal of Larry (Trivia: Owen played Dan in the stage production).
When all's been said and done, one wonders if that's what love is all about. Strangely enough, it all seems to rings so true.
(First published in Inquirer Libre on April 5, 2005)
posted by Francis Rex Alger @ 3:31 PM
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