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.
Closer (2004)
Tomatometer
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Reviews Counted:41
Fresh:30
Rotten:11
Average Rating:6.6/10
Rated: R [See Full Rating] for sequences of graphic sexual dialogue, nudity/sexuality and language
Runtime: 1 hr 44 mins
Genre: Dramas
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... 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 person at the same time? How well does anyone really know the one that they love? Directed by Mike Nichols (THE GRADUATE, BIRDCAGE, WORKING GIRL), CLOSER questions the nature of relationships and fidelity as it follows the tangled web created by Dan (Jude Law), Alice (Natalie Portman), Anna (Julia Roberts), and Larry (Clive Owen). Dan, a British writer of obituaries, and Alice, a young American stripper, meet in the film's opening scene when a London cab runs her down. Cut to a year later: Dan and Alice are now a couple, but he is suddenly smitten with Anna, a beautiful American photographer. In an ironic twist of fate, Anna meets Larry, a British doctor, and they are soon a couple, despite Dan's continuing obsession. But the entanglements don't end there, and ultimately, someone is sure to get hurt. The four players do justice to a script that is humorous, raw and disarmingly honest about adult relationships. [More]
Starring: Julia Roberts, Natalie Portman, Jude Law, Clive Owen
Starring: Julia Roberts, Natalie Portman, Jude Law, Clive Owen
Director: Mike Nichols
Director: Mike Nichols
Screenwriter: Patrick Marber
Producer: John Calley, Cary Brokaw
Studio: Sony Pictures Entertainment
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Reviews for Closer
Vibrates with eroticism, bruising laughs and dynamite performances from four attractive actors doing decidedly unattractive things.
Closer has lots to offer: smart performances, archly funny dialogue and a feeling for the way a group of strangers can become so familiar that they're apt to rip one another to shreds.
If it makes you uncomfortable, or leaves you disturbed, it has only done its job.
There's not an American filmmaker who better understands the scheming perversity and self-deception lurking beneath our passions.
It does shock, I should say, in the way of men and women doing their psychological worst and most ruthless to push away those they have previously pulled close.
There's a creepy fascination in the way these four characters stage their affairs while occupying impeccable lifestyles.
Despite four very strong performances, Closer is hard emotional work to sit through.
Bad Pinter meets bad Updike, dancing to the rat-a-tat rhythms of an ER episode.
Closer has clever dialogue and scenes that are alive to all the treachery and nuance of sexual intrigue.
It's not emotional closeness these connection junkies want. It's merely to close the deal and seal another conquest.
It's about getting closer, but the hurting part is about getting farther.
There are moments in Closer when the truth not only hurts, it claws the skin away.
Latest News for Closer
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...
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 36% 36% | Angels & Demons |
| 25% 25% | Four Christmases |
| 68% 68% | Funny People |
| 95% 95% | Star Trek |
| 14% 14% | The Ugly Truth |
| Tomatometer Percentage | Movie |
|---|---|
| 83% 83% | Harry Potter and the H… |
| 67% 67% | Public Enemies |
| 75% 75% | Julie & Julia |
| 95% 95% | The Cove |
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