The Silver Screen: Closer

The Silver Screen

Covering the past, present, and future of motion pictures, this blog is a record of one film-buff's viewing experiences, opinions, and recommendations...

Wednesday, January 26, 2005

Closer - (2004)

"I can't take my eyes off you..."

Damien Rice's "The Blower's Daughter" beautifully punctuates and bookends Closer, the tale of four people and their trials and tribulations of love.

It touches on many themes, including: "Can we choose who we fall in love with?" "What is the moment that love ends?" "Why can't we just let ourselves be loved?" "If we make a mistake are we better off lying?" The list goes on...

I loved this film... It seems to do everything so well. The script is perfectly subtle in its dialog and foreshadowing... Also, I was amazed that for a film that is as sexually charged as this one, there isn't a single "sex scene" in the classic sense. A tribute to Mike Nichols' directing.

By now we've all seen the accolades that Natalie Portman and Clive Owen have received for their roles and deservedly so... Especially Portman. However, I think Julia Roberts' performance was also phenomenal and perhaps was overlooked due to its subtlety...

If the film has a weakness, I would say that the way the all characters meet is a little contrived. Creative, perhaps. But contrived none the less.

Overall, it capped off a year of fantastic character driven films that has renewed my faith in the "character study"...

Rating: HR
More Info ~~>

- posted by Stephen @ 2:00 AM