Closer (2004/I)

User Rating:

7.4/10   

Director:

Mike Nichols

Writers (WGA):

Patrick Marber (play)
Patrick Marber (screenplay)

Release Date:

3 December 2004 (USA)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

If you believe in love at first sight, you never stop looking.

Plot:

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

Plot Keywords:

Photographer | Dermatologist | Divorce | Stripper | Obituary

Awards:

Nominated for 2 Oscars. Another 8 wins & 20 nominations

Cast

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

MPAA:

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

Runtime:

104 min | Turkey:98 min (TV version)

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:R (certificate #40116) | Taiwan:R-12 | Iceland:14 (original rating) | Iceland:16 (video rating) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Zurich) | Malaysia:18SX | Ireland:18 | New Zealand:R16 | Philippines:R-13 | Sweden:11 | Argentina:16 | Australia:MA | Brazil:14 | Canada:14A | Chile:14 | Czech Republic:15 | Finland:K-15 | Germany:12 | Hong Kong:IIB | Japan:R-15 | Netherlands:12 | Norway:15 | Portugal:M/16 | Singapore:M18 | South Korea:18 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:16 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | Indonesia:Dewasa

Filming Locations:

Cowcross Street, Clerkenwell, London, England, UK

Company:

Icarus Productions

Trivia:

The trailer includes several things that are not in the film. - different lighting when Anna and Dan kiss - shots of the driver of the car that hits Alice - a shot of Larry and Anna getting dressed - Larry telling Alice, "You women don't understand the territory, because you are the territory" - Anna asking Dan, "Why did you swear eternal love when all you wanted was excitement? Love bores you." Dan responds, "No, it disappoints me."

Goofs:

Continuity: As Dan talks to Anna in the bar, his glass of Guinness appears full in one shot but in the next, quite a few sips have been taken.

Quotes:

[first lines]
Alice: Hello, stranger.

Movie Connections:

Featured in The 77th Annual Academy Awards (2005) (TV)

Soundtrack:

Smack My Bitch Up

Who's afraid of Closer?

Mike Nichols directed, in my opinion, one of the three best adaptations from stage to screen. "Who's afraid of Virginia Woolf" (The other two being Sidney Lumet's "Long day's journey into night" and Elia Kazan's "A Streetcar named Desire) After the extraordinary television adaptation of "Angels in America" I also would have pleaded with Mike Nichols to do "Closer" Sorry I'm rambling. What I'm trying to say in a rather convoluted way is, simply, thank you Mr. Nichols. Adult themes, conceived and performed by adult artists. I hope it makes zillions of dollars so we can have more of it. Jude Law is a Peter O'Toole without the steroids, Julia Roberts a Jeanne Moreau with an American passport, Clive Owen is a child of John Garfield and Peter Finch and Natalie Portman a Jean Peters with a college degree. I saw the film twice in a row, I hadn't done that in years. Not since "Drugstore Cowboy", "Apartment Zero" and "Sex Lies and Videotape" The unfolding of the dark happens in front of our eyes and it feels chillingly familiar. Lies we tell each other with so much conviction with so much honesty. The only real thing is the pain and the loneliness. It doesn't sound like a very entertaining night out but believe me, it is. Go, see for yourself. You may have to confront something you didn't want to confront. That's part of the process call growing up. Who's afraid of that?