82 out of 104 people found the following review helpful:

Closer or Further? 3.5 Stars

N Stafford from England, 27th April, 2005

Closer is creepy and honest in the way your still-single chain smoking auntie is creepy and honest; with a cynical heart, and clipped words. Most of the movie revolving around the failure of relationships, the subsequent breakup, the arguments, the betrayals - like watching a year of Coronation street in fast forward. But it's not all that bad - there are some great scenes -- as when Clive Owen follows Julie Roberts around his apartment asking her piercing questions about her affair albeit with hypocritical abandon; watching Natalie Portman amazingly dynamic acting skills, and amazingly dynamic bodice; watching Owen breaking Jude Law's heart with unflinching, but warranted, menace; and others. Jude Law is a little Shakespearian bitch (you know - those guys who talk to their hearts) - and it's only possible to sympathise with him if you forget that he's the cause of his own woes. Julie Roberts, although a strong actor, mopes around this movie like a cardboard, trying too hard not to overtake the film and to understate her performance. This movie comes across as urban professional movie, almost an inverse creation of 'Love Actually' - 'No Love Actually'. Have you ever played 'The Sims' on the computer? I think if the Sims were a tad more aggressive and urban they'd all talk like this. But after all this - I still think it's worth watching - there are worse movies to be had, and I enjoyed watching their IKEA walls come crashing down.

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56 out of 79 people found the following review helpful:

Nastiest film of the year?

A Customer from London, 4th March, 2005

I'm amazing this nasty, mean-spirited piece of work is so popular. The characters and acting are both empty and devoid of any redeeming features. Contrary to the opinion of the Oscar voters, the acting is dreadful with an instantly forgettable turn from Jude Law and if what Clive Owen is doing in this film is anything akin to acting then my Russell Grant might be the next Bond. He shows the same facial expression for happy as he does for angry/sad/faintly baffled/smelling a fart though perhaps his performance is too subtle for the likes of me. All in all a thoroughly depressing and, to my mind, unrealistic look at the state of modern relationships and not a patch on the stage version.

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38 out of 48 people found the following review helpful:

Do you really want marriage?

Rearwheel from London, 27th April, 2006

I watched this with a friend and we were both captivated. The Guardian gave this one star out of five and I had avoided it for ages on this basis. Shame on The Guardian.

Dan (Jude Law) is with Alice (Natalie Portman) but falls for Anna (Julia Roberts) who marries Larry (Clive Owen). And at some point, Larry also falls for Alice. Eventually, everyone knows what the other has done. Everyone is a casualty, no-one leaves unscathed.

The film is supported by uncompromising dialogue, particularly from Alice and Larry whose characters seem more neurotic and needed to express themselves as crudely as they did. It really is a razor sharp script, allowing the characters depth, credibility and ultimately our affection. The performances by the four main protagonists were globally strong: Owen and Portman attract special attention, probably because their characters are so passionate, stubborn and prepared to go into free-fall, whilst the more effeminate Dan by Jude Law garners less sympathy but equal applause. Julia Roberts plays the professional who doesn’t end up calling the shots, winning the day or doing anything remotely “Hollywood”. Very refreshing, and played throughout with a cool incisiveness.

If you enjoy scripts where you suspect that the author has sweated over the selection of every word, and the actors truly deliver what they have been fed, then this will not disappoint.

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34 out of 34 people found the following review helpful:

Insulting

BobbyShaftoe from , 7th March, 2009

This film takes place in that strange, Nescafe-advert, Richard Curtis parallel universe where everyone in London is either a writer or an artist and lives in a massively spacious 'apartment'. It also has lots of swearing, which I guess was an attempt by the film makers to assure the audience. and themselves, how 'authentic' this movie is compared to most rom-coms. But it's awful. It's about Julia Roberts, Natalie Portman, and charisma vacuums Clive Owen and Jude Law, and the oh-so vital issue of who of them should be sleeping with whom. For some reason we are expected to care. Not exactly an important universal theme we can all relate to is it? Screw them. Beautiful people and their beautiful problems are not top of my list of daily concerns, nor am I particularly interested in watching films about them. I once woke up in an unfamiliar garden with a kebab in my pocket and a hangover so vicious it could've worked for the Gestapo, and all things told, that was a more enjoyable experience than watching this film.

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I think it missed the point.

A Customer from London, UK., 23rd February, 2010

Roberts and Law put in some truly wooden performances. Oddly, Clive Owen was the best of the main actors, which explains just how poor it was overall. I found the dialog simple to the point of irritation, in that it was almost entirely constructed of 3-5 word bursts shot back and forth between two characters. I guess it was a stylistic statement, but I think it missed the point.

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Unlike the play

sandy666 from , 20th February, 2010

Very similar to the play, but somone has changed the ending which denies the whole piece a big emotional punch. Jude Law cannot act out of a paper bag in this one either. The dialoge is sharp and the characters unspmpathetic, however this worksbetter on the stage than on film.

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Closer

A Customer from London, 15th February, 2010

Enjoyed this movie and in particular the acting by Clive Owen. Little bit Risque in parts but over all enjoyable. Peoples interconnecting Live, Lies and Love.

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Does not translate from stage to screen

Gazmo from , 31st January, 2010

A good cast is let down by a poor script for the screen. It has a slow beginning, an angry middle, and an unbelievable ending. The film does not take advantage of being set in London. See this on stage but don't worry about renting the DVD.

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