Cinema Literature

Rating: 10/10 (23 September 2005)

Closer (2004) is the best postmodern art offering to hit the big screen in decades. The best since Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966) and Ingmar Bergman's Scenes From A Marriage (1973). In fact the movie itself echo's the study of troubled marital relationships spoken of in both the art movie classics. It is hard to explain what the exact plot of this story is; crudely putting it, Closer deals with heterosexual relationships and swapping partners. It is an excellent study of adults, made by adults for an adult audience. For once we have a movie, which isn't called an adult movie just by the insert of sex and nudity, for there is none of that. The story is meant for more mature intelligent audiences, which neither would children be able to comprehend, and nor would they find it interesting. Not that it is slow moving, it actually moves quickly, and time passes by with a blink of an eye. It's always swift moving capturing the viewers attention, the dialogue is sleek and fast, not a single boring moment. The viewer's mind would never wander away, as he or she would be so involved with the unique story and it's extra unique characters. The superb cast consists of Jude law, Julia Roberts, Clive Owen and Natalie Portman. The film cannot be imagined with anyone else instead. If another replaced even one of these stars, it might have not been such great a movie. The cast is that perfect. In fact all four-cast members together won in the category for 'Best Acting Ensemble' at the 'Broadcast Film Critics Association Awards'. None of the characters are very nice people one would want to associate with, especially the men. Not that the women are any saints, but the two men portrayed in this movie are out right savage animals. Based on a play by Patrick Marber, Closer, was excellently adapted to the big screen by director Mike Nichols. Interesting Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (1966), was Nichols directorial debut starring the two best character actors of modern art form of cinema, Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton. Thus we see that both Mike Nichols' directorial debut and his latest offering are two best movies ever released in postmodern artistic cinema genre made in the English language. As most art cinema is affiliated to European ventures, with Sweden's Ingmar Bergman, France's Francois Truffant & Jean-Luc Goddard to Italian Federico Fellinini and many such great European directors. Closer would no doubt be remembered as one best ever made, and the best of the early twenty-first century. This superb piece of art, so believably realistic, will no doubt be taught to students of cinema, not just in film schools, but also as analysis of film literature. And Julia Roberts name is associated with this masterpiece. It is no use writing what the movie is about one must actually watch this. It is unique, and the best all four; Jude Law, Julia Roberts, Natalie Portman and Clive Owen; would have ever appeared in.