Review of Closer (2004) by Drlowdon — 24 May 2013

Based on an award winning play Closer tells the story of four lovers across a four year period. The movies theatre origins are apparent throughout with its small cast and succession of two person scenes. While this is not necessarily a bad thing, most scenes are certainly well written and performed admirably by the cast, it can make their story seem very isolated from the outside world on occasions.

Despite these excellent performances however the biggest problem I had with Closer is that, with the possible exception of Alice (Portman), it is very difficult to feel any sympathy for any of the characters and their predicaments. Throughout the film their behavior makes them continually come across as totally unlikable to the point that by the films conclusion the ongoing drama between them becomes closer to irritating than interesting.