Review of the film Closer

Rating: 9/10 (8 April 2005)

This is a painfully honest film and one of the best of the year. A story of two couples and the uncomfortable way in which their lives overlap one another. Their relationships are train wrecks and falling pianos where individual selfishness outweighs guilt. I was struck by the depravity and carelessness of the characters in their desperation for love.
Natalie Portman is as always beautiful and beguiling but the real star in this film is Clive Owen who plays the larger than life Larry. He is shockingly harsh and brash and intense and you can love him and hate him in the same 10 minutes. But that can also be said of all of the characters.
This film is haunting. Damien Rice's Blower's Daughter makes the story cling to you like a chill and it is beautiful and disturbing at the same time. Beware, this is not your Mother's romantic story. Enter at your own risk.