Review of Closer (2013) by Doctor S — 09 Jan 2010

Talky, talky, TALKY. That's fine when the talkers are interesting people, but these four characters don't have a whole lot going for them to recommend spending 1:45 as their bartender. The powerhouse cast of Julia Roberts as Anna, Jude Law as Dan, Natalie Portman as Alice, and Clive Owen as Larry aren't portraying awful people (except maybe Dan) but they are rather pathetic and don't make up for their shortcomings with many positives. They bring their troubles solely upon themselves, and I found it difficult to sympathize or sometimes even understand their infidelities.

Time passes in odd bursts, sometimes a scene with begin but only after several minutes do we figure out that 4 months to a year have passed since the last scene! In the meantime, some relationships have changed significantly and I felt the screenplay cheated by putting the burden on the audience to explain the hows and whys rather than dealing with the blood and guts itself. With Mike Nichols directing, 'Closer' seems like a misfired attempt to mimic the unromantic sexual frankness of 1970s films like 'Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice' and 'Carnal Knowledge.' Competently acted (Clive Owen scoring highest) but rather empty. Here is my character preference in order:

1) Alice.

2) Larry.

3) Anna.

4) Dan.