With a better script, Closer could have been compelling romantic drama; instead, it's little more than clichéd nonsense.
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09/26/09
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Closer (2004)
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Reviews Counted:197
Fresh:136
Rotten:61
Average Rating:6.6/10
Theatrical Release:Dec 3, 2004 Limited
Box Office: $33,987,757
Synopsis: Are humans meant to mate for life? What drives someone in a perfectly good relationship to cheat and risk losing the one that they love and that loves them? Is it possible to love more than one... [More]
Starring: Julia Roberts, Natalie Portman, Jude Law, Clive Owen
Director: Mike Nichols
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Reviews for Closer
Nichols ... simply stuns with a beautiful production, excellent script, unconventional and rather hateful story, and excellent acting all around.
04/29/09
Mike Nichols teases up a similar level of emotional dysfunction to "Carnal Knowledge" with a filmic rendition of Patrick Marber's stage play about sexual one-ups-man-ship.
04/18/09
Like dramas by Pinter and others, what seems trenchant and perfectly pitched in the theater can come off as arch even when skillfully transferred to film.
03/19/09
Top CriticFour beautiful, despicable characters find everything but love in this borderline sadistic battle of words from Mike Nichols.
12/27/07
It's only as good as its cast. Fortunately, it's a good cast.
07/30/07
Marber looks at farcical giddiness with a hard-won sobriety.... Closer is a voguish farce that, rather than making you wish you were like the characters, makes you wish that you hadn't been.
05/28/07
click to read article [Greek]
08/31/06
Owen and Portman give excellent, committed performances, leaving Law and Roberts in the shade.
06/24/06
No review available.
04/01/06
Thanks to Marber's whiplash dialogue, the cast suffer with an eloquence that's uncommon in the movies, but that's about as far as it goes.
01/17/06
Fortunately for Nichols, Marber’s script is smart enough and often uncomfortably amusing, and the talent he’s arrayed all live up to their marquee status. Even Roberts.
12/06/05
Closer, a lacerating four-character suite on the elusiveness of love and intimacy, finds Nichols returning to his roots without having lost his sardonic edge.
09/26/05
...directors like Peter Greenaway and Mike Leigh have examined sexual politics and cruelty with results that are significantly more profound.
07/25/05
Competently acted, theatrically staged.
05/03/05
"Closer" isn't the kind of film just any audience would enjoy. The film features complex sexual and relationship themes that might leave some viewers cold.
04/17/05
The dialogue is often lacerating, as lovers wield words like lashes, striking out to get what they desire.
04/13/05
Offers a cynical and pessimistic look at the ongoing Sexual Revolution.
04/05/05
Since we only glimpse these personalities when they are threatened, the fun of the movie becomes trying to guess which behavior is genuine, and which is a means of defense.
04/01/05
Surely the most divisive film about modern relations since Eyes Wide Shut.
03/24/05
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July 12, 2006:
Portman Party Pooper: Natalie Won't Be Nude
After a few exhilarating days of hopeful speculation, the dreams of "Star Wars" fanboys everywhere have been crushed as Natalie Portman will not, repeat not, appear... More...
February 24, 2006:
Time to Vote for JoBlo's Golden Schmoes!
The SAGs, the BAFTAs, the Globes and the Oscars are all fine and good, but if there's one voting process I always look forward to, it's JoBlo's Golden Schmoes. It's time for the... More...
January 11, 2006:
Julia Roberts to Make Her Return in "War" Movie
Variety reports that Ms. Julia Roberts, who hasn't been in a flick since 2004's "Ocean's Twelve," is planning to co-star with Tom Hanks in Mike Nichols' and... More...
May 11, 2005:
Fox Searchlight to Do a "Scandal" with Blanchett & Dench
From the pages of Variety comes news of the timely drama "Notes From a Scandal," which is based on Zoe Heller's novel "What Was She Thinking?" Cate Blanchett... More...
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