Strangely Compelling Drama

Rating: 9/10 (21 April 2006)

This interesting drama is clever in that it can draw you into the stories and relationships between the four main characters purely through some amazing dialogue, some intense sexual chemistry, and through an incredible cast. It is also very unpredictable in comparison to many other films in the romantic genre, and for this, Closer deserves more recognition than your average romance film.
The film focuses on four characters. Alice (Portman, in arguably her best role to date), Dan (Law), Anna (Roberts) and Larry (Owen). After a series of chance encounters, the two principle relationships are developed. These are between Alice and Dan, the other between Anna and Larry. However, this twisted tale of lust, betrayal, deception and second chances takes a violent turn when Dan embarks on an affair with Anna and breaks off his relationship with Alice, with some revealing consequences that become important as the film goes on.
Portman gives a stellar performance as the teasing, yet highly emotional Alice, and Owen gives an equally good performance as the tactically minded Larry, who will engage anyone in a battle of wits, with interesting results. But, this isn't to say that Law and Roberts' performances aren't good, they are just simply outperformed. The result is some incredibly intense sexual chemistry, which is just begging to be released. You decide which of these types of scenes you'll find as the most arousing.
Told through a succession of shifts in time, fused with flashbacks that develop the situations, perfectly reflects how life isn't always straightforward, but sometimes, if you blink, you will miss it. This can be described as a psychological drama in the way that the relationships heat up through the amazingly intense scenes, and how people's minds do tend to lose proportionality when placed into a situation that has never previously been dealt with or dreamt of. But, the most interesting thing about this film is how it can deal quite a lot of arousal, even though there isn't any truly graphic/visual depiction of sex in the entire film.
Whatever your views on romantic/sexual films, this should interest with how destructive inter-related lives can be, and how far off the path of morality it can take us, and for anybody who can see any part of themselves in any of the four characters, they can fully appreciate the sharp turns life has, and how accurately the consequences of this are conveyed in the tumultuous relationships this film depicts.
A wonderful film, but beaten at the Oscars by a Million Dollar Baby. 9/10