In my Top 10 Films of All-Time

Rating: 10/10 (18 August 2005)

I can't find anything wrong about this film. Because I'm not a Julia Roberts fan and usually don't go for the romantic-drama genre, I waited until the DVD release to view the film; I shouldn't have. Closer is wonderfully acted, employs dialog that rings true, and ultimately is able to achieve a powerful narrative rivaled by few other films to date. A masterpiece that will be studied and revered for decades to come.
The picture, centrally, deals with the emotions inherent in the modern relationship: trust, betrayal, and vulnerability.
Closer probably isn't a good date film, nor even a "couples" film, it isn't bubbly. It is, however, the director Nichols' best work to date, which is saying something, remember he was responsible for The Graduate. This movie isn't as culturally significant as The Graduate, but I prefer it nonetheless, as it seems to reflect a more mature and honest view of human relations.
And then there is the acting. Clive Owen deserved best actor, Portman gives another outstanding performance, and Jude Law shows, once again, why he's the new Johnny Depp (probably will never get the acclaim he deserves, like Depp, or Pitt for that matter, due to Hollywood hunk-marketing). By the end of the film, none of the characters walks away unblemished, and yet you empathize and identify with all of their faults, as if you can imagine yourself making similar mistakes. Nichols was wise enough to depict the youthful quartet as naive, stupid, cruel, narcissistic and selfish. I suspect this movie hits too close to the bone for some.
I have to reiterate, this isn't a happy consumer-land film. This is serious cinema revealing the failings many of us are prone to make while young and searching. I'm glad Hollywood can still make a movie like this. Life isn't a beer commercial and not all of us want trite escapism all the time. Cinema, at its best as in Closer, is capable of achieving so much more. I appreciate a silly genre movie as well as the next person, but sometimes a person wants something with more substance, a film working on a different plane. A film like a good novel, teaching you a little more about yourself and your fellow man.
Finally, I have to note the superb, and somewhat risky reliance the filmmakers made using Damien Rice's unforgettable song "The Blower's Daughter" to set the tone for the film. The choice was shrewd giving the film a melancholy, but humane, quality of romance.