Remarkable. Raw and True.

Rating: Null/10 (14 December 2004)

Two pivotal ideas make this film memorable: Clever euphemisms and (conceptually) 'the moment' of change. When exactly does someone fall in love? How does someone? Euphemisms weave their way throughout the dialog, tossing four people ragged on the seas of love without dramamine, to discover The Moment. Closer  the title itself  is euphemistically used to help me understand the moment in the games people play en route to falling into and out of love.
Nothing is held back. No bridling. Passion and emotional turmoil are served up raw. That Natalie Portman and Julia Roberts are the female objets'desire drew me in from frame one (and there's Jude Law and Clive Owen for the ladies - no worries).
Unless ice water flows through your veins, you'll get Closer to the work of Mike Nichols - who started down this path with Who's Afraid of Virginia Wolff four decades ago, his first and best gem.
Enjoy! I did. 8 out of 10.