Realistic + ugly look at love in the 21st century

Rating: 6/10 (14 May 2005)

Alice (Portman) and Dan (Law) are in love. Dan meets photographer, Anna (Roberts) and becomes infatuated with her. Dan and Larry (Owen) meet while having online sex (unbeknownst to Larry is Dan's gender). Larry meets Anna when Dan cruelly orchestrates a rendezvous. Anna and Larry fall in love. Anna and Dan fall in love. They all break each other's hearts.
'Closer' is a relationship merry-go-round, in which the four main characters; Anna, Alice, Dan and Larry all fall in love with one another; and while falling out of love with each other, partake in ugly, vicious verbal abuse and then pathetically go crawling back into each other's arms for another spin on loves carnival ride. 'Closer' is a realistic look at love in the 21st century. Forget the chocolates and roses; this film only ever offers the warts. Following two couples as they begin their relationships, but focusing more on the ways they destroy them. Everything about 'Closer' is confronting, uncomfortable and truthful and it's probably all that truth which makes the film so ugly.
There was a lot of hype surrounding the four actors of the film; praise was heaped but I simply don't see where all the fuss came from. Her golden globe aside, Natalie Portman's portrayal of a lovable yet needy stripper is pretty lackluster; which makes her character of Alice stick out like a sore thumb, because she's not nearly as aggravating and repellent as the other 3 characters. Somehow I just think that if she'd been a little harder, nastier it would have rounded out her character a little better. Equally uninteresting are Jude Law and Julia Roberts. For the life of me I cannot see what is so sexy and appealing about Mr. Law. He is plain, skinny and big-headed (not as in arrogant, I literally mean the man has a head too big for his skinny body!) His character of Dan does absolutely nothing to ease my dislike for him as an actor. Law plays him as a man who believes himself to be an utter romantic, when in reality (and as the audience can see), Dan is merely a creepy guy addicted to the newness and innocence of love. Law is utterly unimpressive and quite frankly, boring. He brings nothing of his own to the character. The same can be said of Julia Roberts; while I do commend her for taking on such an uncharacteristic role, her performance was simply dull. But I did find it amusing that even when she played a hooker in "Pretty Woman", she was never nearly as slutty as she is in 'Closer'. However; amidst the uninteresting and ordinary, there was one who mesmerized. Clive Owen. Not only is he utterly gorgeous - even when heaping ugly verbal abuse, particularly repeating certain four letter words which made even the teenaged me cringe; Owen is in a class all his own. Perhaps it's the fact that he played the role of Dan in Patrick Marber's original stage play. Perhaps it's the fact that Portman, Law and Roberts were so unimpressive, that anybody even a notch better, absolutely shines. Or maybe (and this is the possibility I like best) Owen really is just super talented, and one relatively new British actor Hollywood should sure be on the look-out for. Playing Larry as a very bi-polar lover; believing himself to be victim of love one minute and then suddenly turning nasty and barbaric the next; Owen's performance as scornful lover and smooth operator is the most realistic and confronting of all. All of the characters have one thing in common though; they are all weak. Despite the mess of their relationships, the ugliness in their past; these characters still go back to one another, instead of cutting loose and giving themselves a clean slate. This, for the viewer, is not only annoying but like a car crash, impossible to look away from.
For all of the film's emotional and verbal abuse; I liked the fact that director Mike Nicholas and play write Patrick Marber never included any loves scenes or physical aggression. The film is very much sexually charged; it has to be, with all the swapping and exchanging of partners. There are moments in which the sexual implications are a little uncomfortable to watch - most notably is the online conversation between Larry and Dan; just when you think their language cant get any filthier. Oh wait!... It does! But otherwise the film does well to portray just how much more wounding and debilitating people's words and actions can be. We never see the affairs taking place; what we see is the aftereffects, the ripples these people's mistakes and selfishness have on those around them. And that is far more human and tragic.
A very interesting film, delving deep into the darkness of relationships exploring topics which are often so uncomfortable to watch being played out, that you'll be wriggling in your seat. Despite being held up by a mostly dull cast (Owen being the exception), the film's issues are enough to keep you interested, if not a little appalled.