Great performances by all four stars. If I had to choose between them I'd say that Clive Owen just nudges ahead of Natalie Portman. but really there's not much between all of them, and I suspect I've only gone for Owen because this is the first thing I've seen him in. (I understand now why he's a rumoured candidate to take over the Bond franchise.)
Other than some outdoor and expansive indoor locations there was really no attempt made to open the source material up. Closer is still structured very much like a play, with time jumps bypassing major events, some artificial dialogue and the dearth of supporting characters (there are only six speaking parts in the movie overall, two of them trivial). Not that this detracts from the film, which really is carried by the performances.
Two random comments:
1. I saw a copy of an Oscar promotional DVD which was interesting not only for the occasional "for your consideration" caption at the bottom of the frame, but also because Natalie Portman's much vaunted topless scene (already cut down from the original full frontal nudity) was excised. (Either that or I completely missed it!?) I wonder if similar editing will occur for the official DVD release as happened with Lynch's Mulholland Dr.
2. This is not a good movie to see on Valentine's Day!
Comments (1)
Happy (belated) Valentine's Day!
I read your reviews from time to time when I want a refreshing viewpoint before going to the movie theater.
Let's just say thanks for the advice about Closer and Valentine's Day. I saw it two days after; needless to say I'm glad that I did.
Posted by denodaeus | February 21, 2005 5:01 AM
Posted on February 21, 2005 05:01