Far

Rating: 8/10 (20 December 2004)

Somehow this film feels cold as one watches it unfold on the screen. Since this is not a story told in a linear manner, it confuses a lot of viewers, as the action switches back and forth. Mike Nichols is a director that has contributed a lot to the movies. He has an eye for what works and what doesn't. One suspects the problem with the film not being so accessible to everybody, lies in Patrick Marber's adaptation of his play. If you haven't seen the film, please stop reading here.
When "Closer" played on Broadway, it had a stellar cast. Perhaps, the weakest link in the film is Anna. As played by Julia Roberts, this is a woman who is an enigma, at best. One is never sure where she stands at any given moment. Anna, is a successful photographer, but her life is a mess. She is divided between Dan, the obituary writer that wants to be a novelist, and Larry, the doctor who falls in love with her, but who has a streak of sadism within him. Anna is ultimately her own victim for staying in a marriage that will destroy her in the long run.
Then there is Alice. When we first see her at the beginning of the film, she is walking in a crowded London street. Dan, the writer, is walking in the opposite direction, also surrounded by a lot of people. We know right away these two are going to meet, not realizing yet, they really don't know one another. Alice is hit by a taxi when she, obviously confused by the London traffic, has looked in the opposite direction in order to cross the street. Dan comes to help her. He ends up falling in love with her.
At the end of the film we also watch Alice, this time in New York. She is walking among a crowd in Manhattan and men keep ogling at her. What happens next, no one can see in the film, but it seems that Alice is going to try to walk as though she is still living in London. A fatal mistake!
Larry, the man in love with Anna, is also a troubled soul. He loves to chat with unknown persons in the internet. In fact, that's how he meets Anna, when he is misdirected to a date at the Acquarium. Larry is a sensual man whose desires are not satisfied by Anna. He must look for excitement wherever he can get it. That's why when he meets Alice, who is now on her own working as an exotic dancer in a stripper's club, Larry's wants to have sex with her, but the young woman proves to be a tease who will not go to bed with him. Larry confesses to Anna his indiscretions and how he had sex in New York on a business trip. Larry is the only one that achieves some sort of normalcy with Anna.
Dan is also a man that having found happiness with Alice, courts disaster in going for Anna. He betrays Alice in such a shameful way that makes us questions us his motives. He is a man who doesn't know what he wants. He had happiness, but let it go from his fingers in pursuit of Anna, who at the end, rejects him. When Dan questions Alice about her life in the States, she tells him she is just a plain nobody named Jane Jones, but in Dan's mind, she is lying. The truth comes out as she passes the customs area on her return to New York.
The film has a terrific star turn by Clive Owen. He is the one that comes out the best of all four actors because even though he plays the worst possible character, he makes a splash of it, in sharp contrast to the rest of the cast, with the only exception of Natalie Portman. Ms. Portman shows a vulnerable side to her Alice. Jude Law is not likable in his role and he is running the risk of overexposure in films. Julia Roberts is good in light comedy, but in a serious drama like this, shows a disadvantage that is notable.
Mike Nichols has created the right atmosphere for the movie. His choice of music is excellent as well, but one wonders if this is one of the best films of the year, why does it feel shallow in the final analysis.