Similar to a Greco-Roman play, Closer attempts to portray complex human emotion...but it fails miserably

Rating: 3/10 (20 December 2004)

Thirty minutes in, I just plain wasn't buying any of the performances or the plot. Its hard to believe any of the relationships, or emotions. Everyone and everything appears contrived. Then finally one character acts human enough to peak interest....small sparks fly and kindle into a cartoonish attempt at portraying how complex love can really be.
The words "I love you" get thrown around so often, I was just disgusted by the frequent and blatant attempts to manipulate the audience. So many flavors of betrayal, morality, and infidelity are childishly entangled with "love" that you'd swear you're watching a bad soap opera written by someone with the emotional intelligence of a 12-year old.
Here's a quick synopsis: I love you, so I hurt you to show you I love you....I hate that you hurt me, so I don't love you anymore.....I love someone else, so I must leave you....that hurt me, so I'll get my revenge on you and your new/ex lover....we're all really shallow fickle emotionless robots.....
Every character sounds like they're written by the same person....that's just plain amateur. It played like a cheap fantasy committed to film. All members of the cast are capable of much better performances....perhaps the director, producers, and writers that are to blame for this shabby forgettable piece of dung