SHEDDING INK

Closer

If the French had made this movie, it would have featured real actors having real sex. However, since it was directed by American cinema icon Mike Nichols and stars a group of A-list actors, that obviously wasn't going to happen. But it didn't stop them from talking real dirty and delving deep into the recesses of the human soul, where jealousy and deception rear their ugly heads and make sure all of them manage to wreck the good things they have. Closer closely resembles Nichols' 1971 film Carnal Knowledge. It's like traveling forward in time to see what might have happened to the characters from that film as younger people in this day and age. On a less appealing note, it also resembles Nichols' directoial debut, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, because its source material was also a play; and that's what the film looks like—a play—one of the potential drawbacks when moving from the stage to the screen. Still, the frank dialogue and performances make it difficult to take your eyes off this repulsive, yet fascinating cast of characters.

- January 10, 2005

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Closer (2004)

Two London couples have affairs with each other and work really hard to screw up the various relationships that develop.


Directed by Mike Nichols


Written by Patrick Marber; based on his play


Starring Julia Roberts, Jude Law, Natalie Portman, Clive Owen

104 minutes
Rated R (strong language, frank sexual content, nudity)

Grade: B