Good acting, good script, but poor pacing and sluggish direction spoil it

Rating: 6/10 (23 October 2009)

I like some romantic comedies like the Holiday and Love Actually, but I was disappointed in Closer. It wasn't terrible, but it was very disappointing. It does benefit from a very good acting ensemble. Julia Roberts, Natalie Portman, Jude Law and Clive Owen all give very creditable performances, Owen the standout of the four. They are helped by an above average script, that is surprisingly intelligent. The cinematography is beautiful, fluid and sensitive.
However, there were a number of things that made Closer disappointing for me. The biggest problem was the pace; the film is at approximation just under two hours, however the film takes a long time to get going, and the pace is very uneven, sadly it never recovers. The direction from Mike Nicolls is very sluggish, and lacked credibility. I will admit I liked the premise of Closer, but when I got round to seeing the film, its structure is disappointingly episodic and even underdeveloped. My next complaint is more of a semi-complaint. I really liked the overall music, but I disliked the song at the beginning. I think that was mainly to do with the singing voice of the vocalist, I found it very flat for my musical ears.
All in all, Closer isn't a bad movie. Unfortunately, despite the fine acting ensemble, there were a number of things that didn't work for me. 6/10 Bethany Cox