April 24, 2005
Closer
Lately I've been buying DVDs like a madman. In the last two weeks I've picked up 12 movies, 3 were rebuys because my brother takes them to school and they vanish. Poof! I planned to watch a few today, but we ended up spending a good 5 hours van shopping, so I ended up just watching Closer.
Honestly, I'm not certain how I felt about it. It was very well-acted, even Natalie Portman was good. I usually find her acting to be paper thin and spectacularly dull. However, her performance in Closer actually makes me take back all the not-so-nice things I said about her during the Oscars. The film itself is very harsh and provocative, but beautifully shot and extremely stylish. At one time or another, most people do or say some pretty base and vile things that they'd rather nobody ever see. Loneliness, betrayal, hate and even love, or the illusion of love can bring out the absolute worst in people. That's what Closer shows us; four people often at their worst, doing and saying things to one another based solely on their basest emotions. The dialogue is incredibly brutal and sexually explicit, sometimes making even Reservoir Dogs seem almost G-Rated. I really liked that the end was as harsh as the rest of the film, tossing aside the typical Hollywood romance formula.
Life is harsh. Relationships are often painful rather than pretty. In those respects, Closer is spot on accurate. Perhaps that's why I'm not sure I loved this film, it's not always fun seeing the worst in people. I've seen it for real, thus I may not be reacting to the film fairly. I'll watch it again after I see a few others.
Posted by Mike at April 24, 2005 09:30 PM