We all need to get a little bit Closer

Mike Nichols' Closer is one of, if not the best film of the year so far. Based on the play by Patrick Marber, the film benefits from the strenghts of the stage, and, at also, for the most part, doesn't suffer from mediocre adaptation to the screen. Stage to screen can be difficult, but Nichols manages it successfully. The story, to the degree that there is one, consists of four people Jude Law/Natalie Portman and Clive Owen/Julia Roberts, who, towards the beginning, meet each other and fall in love. Somewhere in the middle, they meet one from the opposite couple, fall in love, and leave their original partner. By the end, they're back together -- sort of. Alright, so there is no story, just four very interesting, very intelligent people trying to be happy. For each of the characters, both their strengths and the weaknesses is their honesty and desire to know the entire truth. It is a strength because they seem to recognize that deceit is bad. A weakness because they often utilize the truth in order to hurt or gain emotional power over another person. In that regard, Clive Owen's character is the most cruel and manipulative. He is a doctor and the most perceptive of the lot, and he uses that to excercise control over those he is in contact with. Jude Law wants to be honest and truthful, but he's not very good at it, and he recognizes his own inconsistencies. Like Paul in the Bible (I'm not comparing him to Paul), he chooses to do what he does not want to do. He recognizes the pain his deceit will cause, but does it anyway. Julia Roberts is a theif -- of people. She says she's not, but we know she is. And Natalie Portman, it would seem, is the most sympathetic of the lot. But then again, she's a stripper a perhaps understands human nature a good deal better than anyone gives her credit for. Thanks to Marber's dialogue, these character truly come alive as some of the most intelligent and human characters I've seen in any movie from the past few years. They aren't dumbed down for the sake of us simple audience folk. Neither is its depiction of sex. Here is a point that I would like to harp on for a few moments if I may. It is a film about sex and relationships and there is no sex in the film. There is a scene in strip club where you see a little bit of skin, but there is no sexual intercourse in the film. Pauline Kael once famously wrote that Last Tango in Paris was a revolutionary film because of its mature depiction of sex as an emotional outlet, and not merely titilation. I might argue that this film is similarly revolutionary its truthful depiction of sexual, and even pornographic dialogue. There is one scene in particular that takes place on a cyber-sex chat room between Clive Owen and Jude Law who is pretending to be a woman. He even pretends to climax online. It's a strangely hilarious scene. Unfortuantely, I don't specifically remember any of the dialogue well enough to do just with an example. My point is, they talk about sex they way people talk about sex -- a combination of detailed description and the language of internet porn. By the end of the film, you're not sure which, if any of the characters, you want to feel most sympathetic towards. However, as you're watching it, there are moments where you find youself liking each of the character and moment when you find yourself disliking them. These are not the cookie cutter characters that you start out disliking and then by the end you discover that they really have a heart of gold, because life rarely works that way. A time we like a certain person, then they go off and do something which lowers our opinion of them. Then they'll come right back and do something almost noble. The film works in that kind of wave-like pattern and succeeds because of it. The last thing I wish to mention are the performances. Yes, the dialogue is impressive, but each of the actors manages to give the character the qualities they deserve. It features some of the finest performances all year within the four leads. I now know that Clive Owen can act after that King Arthur debacle. Jude Law continues to impress me. I've never been a huge fan of Julia Roberts, but here she turns in a strong performance and even manages to be reasonably attractive. But the kicker, for those of you who know me, of course, is Natalie Portman who give probably the finest performance of her career. In fact, for the most part, she manages to steal the movie (and I'm not just saying that because I find her heartbreakingly gorgeous). She's incredibly natural and when she smiles, it makes you want to melt in your seat. The Oscar for best supporting actress is hers if there is any justice in the world. Alright, that said, this is more than just a movie about deceitful people, but a movie about why people deceive. At times the damage has been done the person does not desire (or recognize the need for) forgiveness. Yet at others, to err is human, to forgive devine. Yep, I liked it.