Closer

Mike Nichols' Closer is a very different film to the norm. Adapted by Patrick Marber from his own stage play it is concerned with the lives of four people and their changing relationships over time as jealously and insecurity tears them apart. Certainly cheery subject matter, but it is to Nichols' credit that it never gets too much and that there is a layer of humour to be found within that laces the tale well. The story is told in episodic form skipping unknown amounts of time, cleverly never telling the audience more than you need to know and allowing you t fill in the blanks yourself. The performances throughout are excellent with Natalie Portman shining in a very different role to normal. Julia Roberts is the weak link in the chain though with another variation on the same character she usually plays, more hurt and restrained yes, but I never totally bought her character. The characters themselves are well realised and very human and many of the situations are well played. The main trouble is that they are all rather unlikeable. Jude Law plays a smarmy insecure failed writer, Clive Owen's doctor is the most tragic and repulsive, he longs for true connection but is a victim of his own primal instincts. Natalie Portman plays deep hurt better than most actresses and her character hides true scars, and despite being the youngest, is the most aware of reality of the four. They all strive for happiness and believe it can come but she sees that as they are, it will always elude them. The film is quite slow and at first the characters failed to convince and grip but the ending is good and this is a quality piece of work that falls at one crucial stage: for a film about love and relationships it lacks what should be at the centre, heart. The character speak of love out of habit and conditioning not out of passion or kindness. They act selfishly hiding behind love as defence and reason and so never truly show it. Deliberate or not this leaves an emotional hole in the film and one it never quite manages to cover. We just don't care about these people enough and so you leave rather detached and cold. This may be the state of modern relationships, but it leaves the film lacking where really it should be focusing. A different and dramatic look at modern relationships that is well made and suberbly acted, but is so cynical that it ends up failing to draw you to these characters, who all lack that most important element of life - soul.