A resounding success on all fronts

Rating: 7/10 (4 September 2005)

Based on a stage play by Patrick Marber, Closer tells the story of four people living in the upper crust of London society. All of these characters are flawed to an extent that it is the flaws themselves that make up their personalities, and that makes it very hard to really care for any of them. This is made up, however, by the scene setting. Patrick Marber also wrote the screenplay for this film, and some of his scenes are just brilliant. They're always interesting because of the things that the characters do and say to each other - their motives are well worked out, and even though you don't really like any of them; it's still possible to get behind them because their characters are so well defined and seeing them reveal themselves on screen is always great to watch. The film doesn't really have a plot to speak of, and all the action comes about through the characters themselves rather than any actual plotting. This may be a bad thing for some people, because the film lacks structure - but I liked the way that it panned out because it also makes it unpredictable and, as the characters are the stars anyway, it also ensures that we see them for what they are, as they don't have to follow any plot line.
For the characters, Mike Nichols has recruited four big names. Natalie Portman stands out the most among the cast members. This beautiful and talented young actress makes every scene she's in a treat for the eyes, and her beauty does Closer no end of favours in that respect. She has the best scene in the movie, which is shared by Clive Owen and takes place in a strip club! It's been years since Julia Roberts made anything worth seeing, and for that reason; she's the sore thumb of this cast of up and coming young stars. The male leads give strong performances, and Clive Owen in particular stands out. He's a very strong actor and that translates well to his character. Similarly, Jude Law's screen presence suits his character excellently but in a different way. Mike Nichols has his first big success with an adaptation of a stage play with the brilliant "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?", and although this film doesn't come close to the brilliance of that one, the great director has managed to inject just the right tone into the proceedings and it is that which ultimately makes Closer the success that it is.