Love bites, truth stings and it's all very good

Rating: 8/10 (11 December 2004)

"Why is love not enough?" a tearful Alice (Natalie Portman) asks her boyfriend Dan (Jude Law) at a crucial point in "Closer."
Her question is at the crux of Mike Nichols' brutal film about love, lust, lies and the lengths to which human beings go to make themselves happy, even at someone else's expense.
Be warned: If you go to movies to be entertained and feel good about life, "Closer" isn't for you. It's not a fluffy romantic comedy, despite starring Portman, Law, Julia Roberts and Clive Owen. It's a disquieting film that frankly and bluntly discusses sex and human relationships. Also, if you believe, say, the execrable "The Bird Cage" (1996) was Nichols' finest work, you'd be better off staying away.
"Closer" recalls Nichols' best work very early in his career, when he made two great movies about relationships - "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?" (1966) and "Carnal Knowledge" (1971). He didn't quite rekindle the same magic in 1986's "Heartburn."
This time, he comes closer. The characters in "Closer" aren't quite George and Martha, though you can certainly picture Larry (Owen) and Anna (Roberts) turning into Edward Albee's famous wedded pair when they get older.
What makes "Closer" absorbing are two terrific performances by Portman and Owen. Law's acceptable. Unfortunately, Roberts is the weak link. She's a pretty woman adept at playing spunky, lighthearted comedic roles. Even her Oscar-winning Erin Brockovich (Laura Linney should have won that year) was more comedic than dramatic. When it comes to drama, however, Roberts can be downright awful. "Mary Reilly" (1996), anyone?
Roberts' dramatic range is about as wide as Patrick Swayze's. She runs the gamut of emotions from A to B. In "Closer," she's out of her depth. Whenever she's on screen, you can feel the story sputtering as she struggles with trying to make her role real, something it desperately needs. You see her bland and expressionless Anna - especially during a critical scene with Larry - and wonder how much better actresses with real dramatic talent, say, Cate Blanchett or Natasha Richardson (who played Anna on Broadway), would have been. And how much sharper and more potent "Closer" would have been.
Portman, on the other hand, is sensationally good as young Alice. Her two performances this year - in "Garden State" and here - might just be enough to wash off the bad taste of the next "Star Wars" film, if her stiff turns in "The Phantom Menace" (1999) and "Attack of the Clones" (2002) are any indication of what to expect.
Her Alice has the ideal amount of charm, perkiness, vulnerability and confidence. She warms our hearts with her giggle, breaks 'em with her tears. This beautiful young actress has one heck of a career ahead of her.
Owen is deliciously smarmy as Larry, a man who simply revels in playing mind games with people, and Law's wimpy enough to be convincing.
"Closer" isn't so much a love story as a chilling tale about what happens when couples lose their spark, when they start tiring of each other and find new people more attractive. People usually lie to keep the harsh truth from a loved one. Not here. These people tell the truth no matter how hurtful it might be. But they also lie. "Lying is the most fun a girl can have without taking her clothes off," Alice observes. "But it's more fun if you do."
These characters aren't being cruel only to be kind; they're being cruel for the sheer pleasure of it. They may not be completely familiar with one another, but they know which buttons to push. And they do it with such glee. Especially Larry, whose final words to Dan don't simply cut to the bone, they saw right through. And the smug expression on Owen's face is priceless.
Patrick Marber's smart script, based on his hit play, often bristles with ferocious honesty. Watching these people prey on each other's vulnerabilities can be painful to watch, yet it's compelling. One particularly candid moment between Larry and Alice stings because neither knows when to stop. That scene would have absolutely sizzled with Blanchett, by the way.
The characters are unsympathetic; yet, rotten as they are, there's something awfully interesting about them. Not everything about "Closer" rings true. But there are many more true moments than false. "Everyone loves a big liar," Alice tells Larry, and nothing in society today seems to suggest otherwise. Just take a look at who our elected leaders, pop icons and sports heroes are.
Genuinely adult films are rare these days. So it's refreshing to watch a film that isn't dumbed-down or pandering to the lowest common denominator. As much as romantic-comedies and action-adventure yarns should be made to keep the masses happy, American cinema would be so much the richer if Hollywood made more films like "Closer." The film deals with harsh issues bound to unnerve many because much of it looks and feels real.