Academy Award MUST!! (of course because it's typical)

Rating: 6/10 (4 February 2005)

This is the prime example of all things artsy with Mike Nichols' Closer. This seems like the mould for Academy films and the artsy crowd. No that doesn't make it a bad film, it just makes it exclusively enjoyed by a minority of film goers.
Closer is about...well it's hard to tell what it's about...it's pretty mish mashed and out there which is a usual characteristic of artsy type films. But basically Closer is about four people of different walks of life, a doctor, a photographer, a stripper, and a writer. Together their lives and love lives and unique personalities become entwined over a long period of time.
The period of time is quite unknown because the film moves at a silent pace...meaning they don't make it clear when they are jumping ahead a month, 3 months, 4 years...whatever they happen to be doing. You do follow the plot fairly easily and they try to let you know where they are in the timeline but if you don't know ahead of time that the film will not all take place during one time frame, you'll be initially confused. The cast is stellar, amazing in fact. Natalie Portman proves her acting chops which is long overdue and Jude Law is his usual portrayal which happens to work well here. Julia Roberts supports everyone else as the quiet link between them all. And nominee Clive Owen is brilliantly emotional and firey and he makes the film worth watching.
Patrick Marber who wrote the play and script tries to capture human condition when it comes to love and sex and honesty. There definitely is something here worth researching because all four people have this view on these subjects that effect those around them. They are all self involved and self concerned. The dialogue is very quick witted and most of the conversation between any two of the characters if a firing of constant questions which leaves you feeling muddled and perplexed which I think is what it is supposed to do, they want you to feel like you're in their situation. I also think in my opinion that the film is aiming to show a total cycle of different relationships but on a fast track over the course of 4 years. Basically they are showing human relationships on fast forward, but that's just my opinion. If you want an artsy film with Hollywood stars this is one of the better ones. I'm sure it will take some award, somewhere.
6/10