Clive and Julia and Jude and Natalie

Rating: 9/10 (29 January 2007)

Oscar Wilde was right when he said, "There are two great tragedies in life. One is not getting what you want, and the other is getting it." Mike Nichols' well crafted film highlights both tragedies with an unflinching eye. Nichols clearly knows a little something about both films and relationships, and he turns it loose here with a vengeance. This film seems to derail your expectations at every turn, yet he keeps it both believable and true. Desire and its consequences ramble through the lives of this foursome in modern London. Are we in control of our emotions and desires, or do they control us? Do we consider the consequences of our actions or blindly go after what we want? Where does happiness lie? And where is that line that past which you can never get back from once crossed?