Review of Closer (2014) by Jay R — 16 Mar 2011

Juvenile delinquents stuck within adult bodies, those are who you will observe in Closer. Director Mike Nichols directs a stunning cast about a film where no adult has a choice, they can only hope they fall in love. They never try or attempt to create a life for themselves, they wander. They are essentially robots asking to be programmed by whoever seems to be with them at that moment. The indecisive human nature and deceitful tension between the four characters continues to escalate throughout until goals are reached, or deemed unattainable. Closer is a mature and poignant drama about adults who act like children on a schoolyard.

Let's begin with Dan (the apt Jude Law). Dan writes obituaries for a newspaper. His life isn't that complicated, but his ever changing feelings make him complicated to be with. He falls for the next attractive woman he sees, even if he is with someone. Unable to truly love, and only able to be with, Dan is a fascinating character who gives into the boyish ambitions to do every attractive person he can. He is a coward who doesn't want someone to get attached to him, but he wants to give what he can to someone. A girl can't need him, or else, it is over.

Dan is in love with Anna (the great Julia Roberts) from the moment she begins to take his picture in a studio. Anna is single and she take photos so that she can admire the beauty in people. She is able to give into love fairly easily, and she wants to make things work as well as they can. But her nature is that love seems to get boring after awhile. Having already been a divorcee, she falls for Dan.

There are two problems with this. One, at this point, Dan is already with a young stripper named Alice (Natalie Portman, in a risque and bold performance) who is so blunt about life, that she is cannot even bear to grow close to someone unless she speaks through her facade. That is, being a stripper. She is extremely cunning in her eroticism and you are never sure what she is truly feeling. But to her, love is a switch that can be turned on and off in the blink of an eye.

The other problem is that Dan accidentally sent a doctor named Larry (a career performance from Clive Owen) to meet Anna. And they end up together together. Larry is one of brutal genius in life. His knowledge of psychologically causes him to manipulate and trick everyone into loving him. He rarely goes into an emotional situation without a plan for it to help him in the end. He's so sly and lucrative about who he wants, loves and desires. It's a character who is the ringleader of the film. He essentially owns all the characters.

As you can see, these characters are what make up the movie. Nichols shows this uncanny ability to dig into the perverse, self-deception lying beneath the passions that we have. Is there a difference between love and passion? It's so fascinating watching these characters screw each other over, not able to understand that they are the scum of people. They have no shame when it comes to desire, and they throw away anything that they are holding as if it was trash. Love comes and goes like a taxi.

If I want to criticize the film for something, it is that we only ever see these characters interacting with each other. I'm assuming Nichols is making an example of these characters, and these characters only, but I never understood what their views of the world were only their desires and love triangles. London seems like such a gorgeous backdrop juxtaposing the disgusting nature of these people. But what of the rest, are we supposed to believe everyone is like this? I didn't buy that, but I bought the characters.

Beginning with coincidence and chance, you soon realize, that is love love is to these people. Blindly believing that love has a reason behind it, the characters jump on and off the ship as frequently as they eat or drink. I love how reflections of the characters are used to remind them of who they are (a photo for Alice, a mirror for Dan). It's almost as if these reflections give them an opportunity to look to themselves, and maybe even have a chance for change. But that change is always too late in their world.

Closer spins a lot of rules on its head, instead of having your emotions manipulated, you watch as the characters manipulate each others' emotions. These people don't even seem real, double-crossing and being so horrible to each other. A relationship seems like a joke to them, the punch line is that there is no joke. A relationship is a relationship, but none of them know what that means. These humans just need a person to hold, not to love. They need someone to say they have someone, and that's it. Their opinions on love are blinded by furious passion and perversity. They are no more different than common thieves, except they are robbing themselves of life by constantly being obstinate. Unwilling to give into a smooth tone, Closer's purposefully jagged tale brings an intimate account of adults who haven't change since high school. They think their mature, but they have the same attitudes as teenagers.

Hoping someone will fill the space that they are missing, Closer never stops creating more for it's characters. Commitment is word that does not exist. Closer explodes with a nasty script (I mean that in the best way), brilliant performances and watching the pushes and pulls of passion and needs. If you believe in love at first sight, you will never stop looking. But the question Nichols asks is if love can ever be found.