Half the cast is excellent.

Rating: Null/10 (6 September 2005)

As a rule, I avoid anything with the simpering, smirking, Barbie-doll Julia Roberts, who is one of the most awful excuses for an actress in Hollywood, and that's saying something.
However, I respect the acting talents of the rest of the cast, so I saw "Closer". Roberts gave exactly the non-performance that I expected of her; no surprises there. Who told her she could act, anyway? She is just as awful in this film as in every other role she's walked through, not even trying to emote. She's wooden, she's boring, she's ridiculous.
On the flip side, Clive Owen and Natalie Portman are excellent as Larry and Alice, two characters who don't know one another very well. Their only scene together is a marvel to watch. Owen blasts everyone but Portman right of the screen; in a party scene with the dullard Roberts, he's so magnetic that it's impossible NOT to look at him; Roberts might as well not even be in the frame. His line delivery is perfect, his emotions realistic.
Portman, in the strip-club scene, is coolly perfect as Owen's foil. He begs to hear the truth from her; she mocks him subtly. This casting was truly inspired.
I was disappointed in Jude Law's performance as the weak-willed Dan; he wasn't as effective as in other films.
With the exception of the dreadful Roberts, this one is riveting.