Closer (I) (2004)

The relationships of two couples become complicated and deceitful when the man from one couple meets the woman of the other.

Director:

Mike Nichols

Writers:

Patrick Marber (play), Patrick Marber (screenplay)

Stars:

Julia Roberts, Jude Law, Natalie Portman

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 15 wins & 24 nominations.

Cast

Complete credited cast:
Julia Roberts	...	Anna
Jude Law	...	Dan
Natalie Portman	...	Alice
Clive Owen	...	Larry
Nick Hobbs	...	Taxi Driver
Colin Stinton	...	Customs Officer

Storyline

Smart-but-ineffectual journalist Dan "We use euphemisms!" cannot decide between his girlfriend, loving-but-clingy waitress Alice, or his lover cold-but-intellectual photographer Anna; herself indecisive between Dan and honest-but-thuggish "You're bloody gorgeous!" doctor Larry. The film, as Tarantino might put it, puts the four leading characters in a box and strips them apart.

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Plot Keywords:

love | photographer | book | dermatologist | journalist | 

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Taglines:

If you believe in love at first sight... Take a closer look.

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Genres:

Drama | Romance

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for sequences of graphic sexual dialogue, nudity/sexuality and language

Details

Official Sites:

Columbia TriStar [es] Sony Pictures

Country:

USA UK

Language:

English

Release Date:

3 December 2004 (USA)

Also Known As:

Closer: Llevados por el deseo

Filming Locations:

Cowcross Street, Clerkenwell, London, England, UK

Box Office

Budget:

$27,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$46,447 (Finland) (4 February 2005)

Gross:

£7,968,183 (UK) (18 February 2005)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Columbia Pictures, Inside Track 2, Aquarium Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

104 min 98 min (TV)

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The original Broadway production of "Closer" by Patrick Marber opened at the Music Box Theater in New York on March 15, 1999. Cast was: Anna Friel as Alice, Rupert Graves as Dan, Ciarán Hinds as Larry, and Natasha Richardson as Anna. This ran for 172 performances and was nominated for the 1999 Tony Award for the Best Play. Marber also wrote the screenplay for this filmed production.

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Goofs

At the opera, Anna's bottle of tonic changes position when different angles are shown.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Alice: Hello, stranger.

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Connections

Referenced in The 83rd Annual Academy Awards (2011)

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Soundtracks

"Caramel"
Performed by Suzanne Vega

User Reviews

Very good

I've been hearing lots of negativity about this movie. I think a lot of people have been shocked, frankly, by the raw and rough nature of the film. Having read the play, I've been looking forward to it for about a year now, and it's honestly one of the best plays I've ever read. Mike Nichols presents it in an amazing way, very faithful to the words as they're written (and they should be, for the movie is also written by the man who wrote the play, the brilliant Patrick Marber).

It's a brutal topic, sex and love, especially when they're combined. I thought the movie was amazing. It captured all of the vulnerability, caustic harshness, and acerbic flirtation that the play vibrated with. All of the cast brought the movie alive. It uplifts and then brings you way down, but that's the point, and yet at the end, I didn't feel depressed or saddened, just really really awake and curious. It's the feeling you get when you get "closer", I suppose.

Natalie Portman, in a tour-de-force performance, is the standout by far. Maybe it's because she's the youngest, and not expected to be that awesome, but she is. Anyways, her Alice is flirty and sweet, caustic and manipulative, evasive and yet very open, sexual and gloomy all in one character. She has the best chemistry with the men - whether it be purely sensual with Clive Owen, or innocence and affection with Jude Law. She comes alive with the two guys, and their scenes are ones to look forward to.

Julia Roberts, whom everyone looks towards, is not bad in this film. She's very understated and good, but she is outshone in nearly every scene by whomever she's acting with.

Clive Owen is absolutely astounding, and he's definitely on everyone's radar screen. As the man of experience and "simplicity", as Jude Law's character comments, he's brash and hotheaded, but also extremely clever. Owen perfectly plays the sleazy, unlikeable character, but somehow manages to appeal to the audience and even though he's a disagreeable character, I think many managed to find something all right about him - Owen's human sense in Larry.

Jude Law is simply very very good; neither astounding nor bad. The only reason he does not stand out is the fact that we've all expected him to do a good performance. And he does, he has a great performance. He and Portman have amazing scenes together, and he's always on par.

Simply put, the movie is not for everyone (especially not for seeing with a parent or young child); it's a mature adult flick, and does not back down from anything. It's high drama - with all the uplifting romance and brutal arguments of relationships. It's a story about people.