If you are looking for a film that’s within your comfort zone then Closer is certainly not for you. A total challenge, the film is absolutely gripping from the very beginning, with a very admirable script that offers twist after twist that will leave you in a faze.
This is a film all about love, although it takes a whole new cynical approach to love, or the lack of it. It criticises modern relationships and explores the aspects that ruin love such as jealousy and betrayal. Also unusually for a love story, the characters are arrogant and difficult to sympathise with, which is a challenge to the audience as it is difficult to take sides with any of them. It certainly doesn’t offer the similarity of a usual love story; I will applaud anyone who comes close to guessing the ending.
The script is extremely witty and honest: it will have you watching the characters as you would a tennis match. Most lines are spat out without much passion; they really hit you in the face. “I don”t love you anymore. Goodbye.’ They are mostly very short and snappy, and anything but poetic.
The plot is about four strangers whose lives intertwine together: Alice, a stripper (Natalie Portman), Dan, an obituaries writer (Jude Law), Anna, a photographer (Julia Roberts) and Larry, a doctor (Clive Owen). These four strangers form unhealthy and unbalanced relationships with one another, involving betrayal, cruelty and obsession. Although it is a very dark story, the tension is often broken down with laugh-out-loud humour, so the audience doesn’t feel suffocated.
Law’s and Robert’s characters are catalysts to the story although they are anything but charming. Owen’s and Portman’s outstandingly chilling performances outshine that of Law’s and Robert’s.
At the scene of the two major break-ups, Owen’s character cruelly and bluntly asks Robert’s about her sexual encounters with Law. “Did you come?” it is deeply unsettling and uncomfortable to watch. In contrast, when the scene jumps to Portman and Law’s break up, we feel more at ease with this much more emotional encounter, and we feel sympathy for Portman’s character. These scenes are certainly emotionally challenging to watch- it is difficult to take it all in the first time you watch it; you might not know how to feel about it.
The script, however, can be to articulate for the characters to be believable and sincere. Despite that, it cleverly highlights the differences in the personality of the characters which is very interesting to watch. For example, Portman says she doesn’t eat fish because “Fish piss in the sea”, in contrast, Roberts’ character finds fish “therapeutic”. Spotting these differences should be rewarding for the viewer.
Another unusual aspect that makes this film interesting is that there is not a single sex scene in the entire film. Sex is talked about in a very cruel and blunt way that makes the viewer cringe (’you know she likes a guilty fuck’) without the use of any physical contact, except kissing and subtle touches. This focuses on the moral aspects of sex and at times, the consequences of lust, although it does not enforce a morality on the viewer.
The narrative also differs from usual romantic films- out leaves out the periods of the smooth sailing relationships and focuses instead on the beginnings and ends of them. This emphasises the point that the film makes- love can be short, blunt and cruel.
Although some people argue it is more admirable than enjoyable, it is a contemporary masterpiece that challenges the audience’s experiences from a romantic film as well as challenging them to think about the real definition of love. All in all, it has amazing script, beautiful cinematography, brilliant acting and an unforgettable soundtrack. Definitely worth seeing, although maybe not ideal for a first date.
