FILM REVIEW

"CLOSER"
Starring Julia Roberts, Jude Law, Clive Owen, and Natalie Portman
Written by Patrick Marber
Directed by Mike Nichols

Entertainment
Art

It’d be easy to over-praise Closer, simply because it’s the sort of film that doesn’t get made all that often. There’s not much in the way of expository dialogue or diverting subplots to be found here; the film essentially consists solely of four characters talking and talking (and talking). Director Mike Nichols is, of course, no stranger to this sort of thing, having explored similar territory in 1966 with “Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?” In a similar vein to that film, “Closer” is concerned with the way men and women behave around each other - and the occasionally disastrous results. The film’s cast - consisting of Jude Law, Julia Roberts, Clive Owen, and Natalie Portman - fills their respective roles perfectly, with Owen and Portman clear standouts. The latter, in particular, does a superb job and cements her status as a superb performer (a process she started earlier this year with Garden State). The film is based on the stage play by Patrick Marber, and like any film that’s dependent on dialogue to propel the story forward, some sequences are more effective than others. Still, it’s hard to resist the genuinely adult nature of the film - an increasingly rare thing these days.