Close My Eyes (1991)

User Rating:

6.5/10   

Director:

Stephen Poliakoff

Writer:

Stephen Poliakoff (writer)

Release Date:

6 September 1991 (UK)

Genre:

Drama

Plot:

After some years of tension, Richard begins a sexual relationship with his sister Natalie. Now married...

Plot Keywords:

Bare Butt | Female Nudity | Incest | Male Full Frontal Nudity | Forbidden Love

Awards:

4 wins

Cast

Alan Rickman	...	Sinclair
Clive Owen	...	Richard
Saskia Reeves	...	Natalie
Karl Johnson	...	Colin
Lesley Sharp	...	Jessica
Kate Gartside	...	Paula
Karen Knight	...	Philippa
Niall Buggy	...	Geof
Campbell Morrison	...	Scotsman
Annie Hayes	...	Receptionist
Maxwell Hutcheon	...	Interviewee
Geraldine Somerville	...	Natalie's Boss
Helen FitzGerald	...	Scottish Girl
Christopher Barr	...	Noley
Gordon Salkilld	...	Hotel Porter

Runtime:

Canada:108 min | Spain:108 min | USA:107 min

Country:

UK

Language:

English

Color:

Color (Metrocolor)

Sound Mix:

Dolby

Certification:

Australia:R | Finland:K-16 | Spain:18 | UK:18 | USA:R

Filming Locations:

Isle of Dogs, London, England, UK

Company:

Beambright

Goofs:

Continuity: When Natalie and Richard are fighting on the country lane, there is a rip in the right shoulder of her jacket. When they get back to the party, the rip has gone.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Natalie: You're late.
Richard: Sorry, it was unavoidable, trains on Sunday, you know what they're like.
Natalie: Unavoidable? I don't believe it. I've eaten all the food.
Richard: You've eaten all the food? Now that's serious.

Movie Connections:

References Rosemary's Baby (1968)

How Can I Live Without You?

The subject of incest, between an adult man and his sister, will immediately put off many potential movie watchers, but for those not turned away easily, Close My Eyes succeeds as a sociological study, and should be commended for its hypnotic depiction of very difficult subject matter.

How many times have we seen, or imagined, an inappropriate flirtation from a woman, at a time when circumstances have left her emotionally distraught? That this flirtation of Natalie (Saskia Reeves) should find its way to her own younger brother Richard (Clive Owen) immediately jump starts the story into somewhat previously uncharted water.

Perhaps incest is a drug, not unlike and somewhere between alcohol and heroin, and certainly the intensity of the feelings, the desire, as portrayed between the two translates to us as such. It is this undeniable intensity that is the strength, perhaps the honesty of the film.

Alan Rickman, is brilliant, as usual, in a smallish role as Natalie's husband.