Closer is a convoluted, intense, topsy-turvy, guilt-ridden, poetically beautiful mess of a movie. Focusing in tightly on the love lives of only four main characters, Natalie Portman as Alice and Jude Law as Dan get the wheels turning. And those wheels turn fast. Closer has you on a people mover without your knowledge. Suddenly you find yourself farther into the story than you would normally expect to be in a standard movie, and things at times even seem a little Pulp Fictionesque temporally. In an accidental meeting, Alice (Portman) and Dan (Jude Law) trade stories. Dan is a struggling writer relegated to handling obituaries. Alice, a lost twenty-something is running from her ex in America, on a break, and in search of something unknown.

We are thrust forward and suddenly Dan, has written a great book, based on the life of his now steady girlfriend Alice. It seems Alice’s life in the moral slums of New York made great book material, and Alice was merely Dan’s muse. Dan, while being photographed for his new book, meets professional photographer Anna (Julia Roberts). For some unexplained reason, Dan instantly falls for Anna. Shunning Dan’s advances brings forth (through a cruel prank) Larry (Clive Owen) a lonely, having sex in chat rooms, dermatologist. With all the key players in place, a strange, intense, almost unexplainable game of toying with emotions and illusions of true love are afoot.

Soon, in some cruel fashion, couples form, break apart, and change faster than you can keep track of. It’s like the very worst parts of human emotion coming to the front. Instant crushes, infatuation, love, and then boredom replay with only the couples making any actual changes. I’m not even sure of what the exact plot of Closer is or should be. Maybe there isn’t really a plot, it’s more of a mirror to look into.

The Minutia of Closer

Closer washes away the pretty, fake, facade of relationships all around us. The truth behind the smiles, the holding of hands, and sincere invitations to social gatherings are dissolved. The ugliness of ditching something real for the illusion of something better is revealed. The reality of secret phone calls, seedy rendezvous, and gentle lies to protect fragile hearts rears its ugly head. The story, and the way it’s portrayed by these four great actors also displays our arrogance as human beings. There seems to be a magnification in Closer of our false belief that we are all somehow entitled to happiness. The tantrums, and fussiness can be child-like, but certainly it’s an accurate glimpse of our inner mind’s selfish desires. It’s a Freudian party, with enough material for just about any shrink convention.


Performances

Natalie Portman easily out did everyone here. While I can’t fault anyone for believing that Roberts, Owen and Law gave stunning performances, Portman is in my opinion the shining star. From her wise-beyond-her-years performance in Leon, to stealing scenes with small parts (Beautiful Girls) I’ve been in awe of Portman’s scary good talent for years. One thing Natalie Portman can do is grieve like nobody else can. The sound of Portman’s voice breaking when she tells Dan (Law) that nobody will ever love him as much as she does, will put a lump in anyone’s throat. Portman as a stripper, Jerry Springer candidate is devastatingly good, and dare I say, this is her best work yet. Even if Portman isn't your favorite, you can rest assured that everyone came to the table with their A game.


♬

Damien Rice's Blower’s Daughter and Cold Water show up in Closer with Cold Water used heavily. Why on earth Cheers Darlin’ wasn’t used boggles the mind. A song about a man trying to pretend he’s happy for his ex (she’s happy and getting married) whilst drinking himself into a stupor is perfect Closer fare.


Videophile corner

Closer is one of only a handful of SUPERBIT titles to carry the mark without being in the special SUPERBIT packaging. Other titles that got this treatment are Panic Room, Adaptation, and Punch Drunk Love. But it seems that this is a watered down version of what a true SUPERBIT title is. What is SB? Long story short, it simply makes use of all the space on the disc to keep the bit rate for video and audio high, leaving all the extras out. The result is a better picture (fewer digital artifacts) and better sound (DTS is a data hog).

But unlike true SB titles, Closer contains some extras like movie trailers and a music video. And unlike the SB titles I own, Closer does not default to the superior DTS soundtrack. This dual layer disc barely uses about 5.8 gigs for the actual movie, of the 9+ gigs available on a dual layer disc. That’s lame. In spite of this treachery, the picture is very good. Why does Sony/Columbia feel the need to ruin yet another good thing? Sony has been doing everything wrong with Super Audio CD, now they feel the need to ruin another SUPER thing.

Leave SUPERBIT on the side for the nerds like me, and give the masses the low bit rate stuff by the millions to pay the bills. Why bother with a dual layer disc, slap SUPERBIT on it, and leave 3 gigs of space for nothing? All the little tiny flaws in DVDs become more noticeable on HDTV sets, making SUPERBIT discs coveted until HD-DVD and BluRay hit the market. And to the knuckle-heads complaining about sparse extras on this DVD, please read my previous rant again.


Bottom line

Closer is beautifully shot, directed and edited. Things unfold at an uneven pace, but given the story, a funky pace was needed and it fits. Everyone is great with Clive Owen getting the biggest career boost here. Buy it, rent it, see it however you must.

★★★★ ½


© Tony Flores 2005




StrangerSoundLabs.com

Recommended:
Yes

Viewing Format: DVD
Suitability For Children: Not suitable for Children of any age