A great and truthful film....

Rating: 10/10 (10 October 2005)

This movie holds a heart for every kind of lover in the world: the cheater, the victim, the detached, the naive, the obsessed, the aloof, the romantic, the strong. Natalie Portman is absolutely sweetly intoxicating as Alice, while Jude Law's character, Dan, provokes everything deliciously selfish and romantic within us, the viewers. Julia Roberts delivers an amazing, and unusual, performance as an emotionally cool and detached Anna Cameron. And the icing on this lovely lopsided cake is Clive Owens who is stunning in his role with witty and thought provoking lines perfectly delivered. All of the characters move and transverse in their roles throughout the film. They emerge to us as one thing, but quickly change to another. The closest I've personally ever seen to actual human beings in any film; these characters suck all of the drama out of our own lives, or at least allow us to forget it, as they deal with their own self-manufactured messes. It's comforting to see the worst in all of us reflected in such interesting and gorgeous characters who continually strive for a perfect ending and fail beautifully throughout. And yet, above all, this film is for the betrayed and the betrayer in any relationship. It feeds compassion in the soul for the lover you still hate for hurting you so. It begs you to forgive yourself and see the wreckage you caused when you slept with a forbidden other. If you ever wanted to know what betrayal looked like from all aspects, this is the movie for you. Love is no longer a Shakespearean sonnet or dew misted rose; it is a prism, gleaning different shades of emotion from every angle, sharply drawing blood every time you touch it. This movie leaves you staring stunned and your chest bursting with questions only you can answer. In "Closer" there are no guilty parties, no bad guys, no heroes. There is only an accurate reflection of each one of us, at one time or another in this crazy life.