Closer is a 2004 American drama film written by Patrick Marber, based on his award-winning 1997 play of the same name. It was produced and directed by Mike Nichols and stars Natalie Portman, Julia Roberts, Jude Law and Clive Owen. The film, like the play on which it is based, has been seen by some as a modern and tragic version of Mozart's opera Così fan tutte, with references to that opera in both the plot and the soundtrack.[2] Owen starred in the play as Dan, the role assumed by Law in the film.
The film was recognized with a number of awards and nominations, including Oscar nominations (and Golden Globe wins) for both Portman and Owen for their performances in supporting roles.
Plot
In the opening scene, 20-year-old Alice Ayres (Natalie Portman) and Dan Woolf (Jude Law) see each other for the first time from opposite sides of a street in downtown London as they are walking toward each other among many other rush hour pedestrians. Alice is a young American stripper who just arrived in London and Dan is an unsuccessful British author who is on his way to work where he writes obituaries for a newspaper. Alice looks in the wrong direction as she crosses the street and is hit by a taxicab right in front of Dan's eyes. He rushes over. She smiles to him and says, "Hello, stranger." He takes her to a hospital, where Alice is treated and released. Afterward, on the way to his office, they stop by Postman's Park, the same park that he and his father visited after his mother's death. Pausing in front of the office before he leaves her and goes to work, he reminds her that traffic in England tends to come on from the right, and on impulse, he asks her for her name. They soon become lovers.
A year later, Dan is straying. He has written a novel based on Alice's life and while being photographed to publicize it, he flirts with the American photographer Anna Cameron (Julia Roberts). Anna shares a kiss with Dan before finding out that Dan and Alice are in a relationship. Alice arrives and borrows Anna's bathroom, leaving Anna and Dan alone again. Dan takes the chance to try to persuade Anna into having an affair with him but is cut short by Alice's return. Alice asks Anna if she can have her portrait taken as well. Anna agrees and Alice asks Dan to leave them alone during the photo shooting. While being photographed, she reveals to Anna that she overheard them, and is photographed weeping. Alice does not reveal what she overheard to Dan, even as he spends a year stalking Anna, who resists.
Another year later, Dan enters a cybersex chat room and randomly meets Larry Gray (Clive Owen), a British dermatologist. With Anna still on his mind, Dan pretends to be her, and using the pretense that they will be having sex, Dan convinces Larry to meet at the aquarium (where Anna told Dan she often went). Larry goes to the meeting place, only to be made a fool of. Anna tells Larry that a man who had pursued her, Dan, was most likely to blame for the setup. Soon, Anna and Larry become a couple and they refer to Dan as "Cupid" from then on.
Four months later, at Anna's photo exhibition, Larry meets Alice, whom he recognizes from the tearful photograph that is one of many being exhibited. Larry knows that Alice and Dan are a couple, from talking to Anna. Meanwhile, Dan convinces Anna to become involved with him. They begin cheating on their respective lovers for a year, even though Anna and Larry become married halfway through the year. Eventually Anna and Dan each confess the affair to their respective partners, leaving their relationships for one another.
Alice goes back to being a stripper, heartbroken by her loss. One day, Larry runs into her accidentally at the strip club and he (heart-broken himself) is convinced that she is the girl he met before. He asks her if her name is Alice, but no matter how much money he gives her, she keeps telling him her name is "Jane Jones." He asks her to have a one-night stand with him but she refuses. The line of questioning becomes pornographic, albeit without any explicit nudity, when Larry asks Alice: "What does your cunt taste like?" Alice replies with a laugh: "like Heaven." Larry then demands: "Alice, tell me one thing that is the truth?" Alice replies with a smile: "Lying is the most fun a girl can have without taking her clothes off," ..., "but it's better if you do." The full irony of Alice's response is not apparent until the conclusion of the film.
Eventually, Larry convinces Anna to see him one last time; she agrees to sleep with him so that he will sign the divorce papers and leave her alone. Dan guesses and Anna confesses it to Dan, who takes it badly. Anna returns to Larry. Distraught, Dan confronts Larry to try to get Anna back. Instead, Larry tells him Alice's whereabouts, and suggests that he go back to her. However, out of malice, he also tells him that he had a one-night stand with her.
Alice takes Dan back. Alice decides to return to America and Dan asks if he could come with her since he has never been to America before and she agrees. They are in a hotel room near Heathrow Airport happy to be back together. Alice notes that today is the day when they first met on that London street exactly four years ago. When Dan asks her whether she had a one-night stand with Larry, she initially denies it. But when he insists on the truth, she suddenly tells him that she doesn't love him anymore and goes on to say that she did sleep with Larry that night he found her working at the strip club. Dan then reveals that Larry had already told him about the one-night stand but that he's already forgiven her. She insists that it's over and tells him to leave. This leads to a heated argument ending with Alice spitting in Dan's face saying that she is no one and Dan replying with a slap.
The Alice Ayres tile in Postman's Park, London
In the end, Alice returns to New York alone. Passing through the immigration checkpoint on her way back into the United States, it is revealed through a shot of her passport that her real name is indeed Jane Rachel Jones and that she had lied about her name for the duration of her four-year relationship with Dan.
Back in London, Dan returns to Postman's Park, and to his surprise, notices the name "Alice Ayres" on a tile that is dedicated to a girl, "who by intrepid conduct," and at the cost of her young life, saved three children. The final scene shows Alice/Jane walking towards West 47th Street, in Manhattan, approaching a red traffic light, where passers-by are turning their heads staring at her, stunned at her beauty; a scene symmetrical with the opening scene, where Alice/Jane and Dan are staring at each other on the streets of London.
Production
Filming
Closer was filmed at Elstree Film and Television Studios and on location in London.
Music
The main theme of the film follows Mozart's opera Così fan tutte, with references to that opera in both the plot and the soundtrack.[3] Further the soundtrack contains songs from Jem, Damien Rice and Lisa Hannigan, Bebel Gilberto, The Devlins, Prodigy and The Smiths.
Reception
Critical reaction
The film received generally positive reviews from critics. In the review of Rotten Tomatoes reported 69% of the positive reviews, based on 188 reviews.[4] In another review, Metacritic reported 65% of positive reviews, based on 42 reviews.[5] Roger Ebert writing for Chicago Sun-Times that it "They are all so very articulate, which is refreshing in a time when literate and evocative speech has been devalued in the movies". Peter Travers writing for Rolling Stone that it "Mike Nichols haunting, hypnotic Closer vibrates with eroticism, bruising laughs and dynamite performances from four attractive actors doing decidedly unattractive things". Kenneth Turan writing for Los Angeles Times that it is "Despite involved acting and Nichols' impeccable professionalism as a director, the end result is, to quote one of the characters," a bunch of sad strangers photographed beautifully . Dana Stevens writing for The New York Times that it is "Unlike most movie love stories, Closer does have the virtue of unpredictability. The problem is that, while parts are provocative and forceful, the film as a whole collapses into a welter of misplaced intensity.
Box office
The film was released on December 2004, in the United States. Closer opened in limited release, but theatre count was increased after the film was released. The film was domestically a financial success, grossing $33,987,757.[1] Huge success followed in the international market, where the film grossed an additional $81,517,270, accounting for over 70% of its worldwide gross, which turned out to be $115,505,027. It was considered a great success at the box office as its actual production budget was only $27 million.[1]
Awards and nominations
The film won the following awards:
The film was nominated for the following awards:
Home media release
Closer was released in DVD in 2005 and high-definition Blu-ray Disc on May 22, 2007.
References
External links
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