Dan & Anna & Larry & Alice

Rating: 7/10 (23 December 2008)

In London, pretty stripper Natalie Portman (as Alice Ayres) is struck by a car. Injured, but not fatally, she opens her eyes to see an handsome stranger - he's business-suited obituary writer Jude Law (as Dan Woolf). The attractive twosome begin satisfying sexual urges. Ms. Portman helps inspire Mr. Law's sexy novel. Then, beautiful photographer Julia Roberts (as Anna Cameron) takes Law's picture for his book jacket. Soon, Ms. Roberts and Law are fighting off (temporarily) sexual urges. Next, during a moment alone, Law engages in a laptop sex chat with attractive dermatologist Clive Owen (as Larry Gray). Posing as "Anna", Law arranges a sex date for Mr. Owen and Roberts. Eventually, Owen hooks up with Portman.
A Mike Nichols-directed film version of Patrick Marber's sex play sure sounds promising. But, with the possible exception of the brief, and more modernly sensible Portman/Owens coupling, the relationships don't really work. The characters have very little understanding regarding love and sexual gratification, despite having a great deal of the latter. It's nearly impossible to care about what they feel. "Closer" is certainly well-performed, however. Owen wins the acting honors, by a hair; demonstrating great versatility, he starred in the original play, but in Law's role, as "Dan".
******* Closer (2004) Mike Nichols ~ Jude Law, Natalie Portman, Clive Owen