Closer.
Monday, May 23, 2005
Checked out the movie "Closer." (Yes, I know I'm late.) A group of pretty, successful people basically pass each other around sexually, each getting revenge on the other for 90 minutes. I found it interesting that the two women (Julia Roberts and Natalie Portman) were both American, while the two males (Clive Owen and Jude Law) were English. English women aren't fine enough to use and pass around?
For all the sex that's happening in the film, though, we never see any of it. We always come in at the end, when they're putting their clothes back on, or taking a shower.
The whole thing reminded me of Neil LaBute's "Your Friends and Neighbors," one of my favorite films from the late '90s indie era. That film also had a group of friends who cheated on each other. There was a lot of dark humor in that movie that wasn't in "Closer," however. "Closer" was very earnest. It's a very quiet, detached film, punctuated by loud arguments among the characters.
Portman plays against her usual goody-goody type as a stripper. Seeing her in pink wigs and thongs and panties alone is worth the rental. Who knew she was rockin' a lil booty like that?
(I think that Luc Besson should do a new "Professional," with Portman all grown up and she's the hit woman.)
If there's any justice, Clive Owen should be the new James Bond. He's never looked better than in this movie. But then again, Bond has hardly ever been actually English, but Scottish or Irish, so we'll see.
All in all, "Closer" is a stylish, mature film experience, a real dinner-and-a-movie-and-sex-afterwards-type flick. Worth a rental.
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