2005-02-15 02:51:54尚未設定
Closer
(reviewed on 13/2/05)
Closer (誘心人)
year: 2004
country: USA
directed by: Mike Nichols
"What's so great about the truth? Try lying for a change - it's the currency of the world." If you don't get this, you won't get 'Closer'.
Rarely have I felt so uneasy after seeing a romantic movie. Following his acclaimed TV series 'Angels in America', Mike Nichols, the expert in character study whose notable entries include 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?' (1966) and 'The Graduate' (1967), offers here maybe the most unusual love story I've seen in a while, because all the characters involved in love relations in the plot are selfish, egocentric, immoral, and in a way, very horny. And the frightening thing is, more or less the film does relate to people in reality.
Beware that it's not at all a romantic comedy, and there's no doubt this emotionally intriguing movie's not for everyone. If you happen to watch 'Closer' on a date, and that you completely identify with the characters on screen, don't tell the mate sitting next to you. In 'Closer', all the beautiful people get ugly in one way or another; the challenging part of the story isn't the fact that the lovers cheat, but the fact that they cheat with a heart and a lot of pride. The four characters involved are stripper Alice (Natalie Portman), author/obituary writer Dan (Jude Law), photographer Anna (Julia Roberts), and dermatologist Larry (Clive Owen). They met by chance encounters, fell in love at first sight, and betrayed their lover(s) from time to time. Fidelity, if there's something so called in the world, is nowhere to be seen in the film.
Strictly speaking, the film may be seen as more of an investigation on passion and desire rather than love and romance - or in other words, it's a film about "strangers", a term repeatedly used in the narrative. Based on a stage production of the same title, 'Closer' is a dialogue driven movie that contains a great deal of dirty or obscene words. It's not like the foul-mouthed classic, 'Pulp Fiction', in which the f word serves as an intensifier; in this movie, the obscene terms are literally used to describe processes of sexual intercourse - while they are meant to provoke the listening character in the film, some audience members may as well find it very difficult to take. If one can keep an open mind and just understand the film as it is presented, the experience is very much worthwhile as the dialogue is indeed extremely well written and undoubtedly highly entertaining.
Given that the film is originally a stage production, it could be expected that the narrative is reasonably compact. The love (or otherwise) between characters can change in a split second; in a way, the rapid progression of the plot is at times both unpredictable and simply incredible. The film looks a bit too dramatic in certain episodes (such as the opening sequence involving Alice and Dan), in which the characters look two-faced and almost unreal. However, explanations towards the characters' eccentric behaviours (such as Dan and Alice's final scene together) are embedded everywhere in the film, and some of the seemingly bizarre sequences can be understood and better appreciated if the viewer has the patience to piece the hints in the narrative together. And trust me, the effort is highly rewarding.
The charm of 'Closer' is solely dependent on its characters, and it's a pleasure that the four leads all give creditable performances in the movie. While Julia Roberts and Jude Law successfully shake off their typical Hollywood images to take up unlikable roles, Clive Owen, who played the role of Dan in the original play, is fantastic in his portrayal of a complicated character that combines a loving husband and a creep. But the ultimate accolade is reserved for Natalie Portman. I've been a big fan of hers since I was 12 (note: so I'm still young!) when she starred in Luc Besson's 'Leon', and despite her generally satisfactory performances throughout the many movies since then, her talent can hardly be recognised even in such a big production as in the 'Star Wars' trilogy. 'Closer' undoubtedly stands as one of the best adult roles she's played in, and certainly the most significant one.
'Closer' is a relentless statement against the notion of "happily ever after". You'll feel deeply to this movie if you've ever fallen for a bastard or, more unfortunately, you're the bastard him/herself. But seriously, who aren't?
rating: 8/10
Closer (誘心人)
year: 2004
country: USA
directed by: Mike Nichols
"What's so great about the truth? Try lying for a change - it's the currency of the world." If you don't get this, you won't get 'Closer'.
Rarely have I felt so uneasy after seeing a romantic movie. Following his acclaimed TV series 'Angels in America', Mike Nichols, the expert in character study whose notable entries include 'Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?' (1966) and 'The Graduate' (1967), offers here maybe the most unusual love story I've seen in a while, because all the characters involved in love relations in the plot are selfish, egocentric, immoral, and in a way, very horny. And the frightening thing is, more or less the film does relate to people in reality.
Beware that it's not at all a romantic comedy, and there's no doubt this emotionally intriguing movie's not for everyone. If you happen to watch 'Closer' on a date, and that you completely identify with the characters on screen, don't tell the mate sitting next to you. In 'Closer', all the beautiful people get ugly in one way or another; the challenging part of the story isn't the fact that the lovers cheat, but the fact that they cheat with a heart and a lot of pride. The four characters involved are stripper Alice (Natalie Portman), author/obituary writer Dan (Jude Law), photographer Anna (Julia Roberts), and dermatologist Larry (Clive Owen). They met by chance encounters, fell in love at first sight, and betrayed their lover(s) from time to time. Fidelity, if there's something so called in the world, is nowhere to be seen in the film.
Strictly speaking, the film may be seen as more of an investigation on passion and desire rather than love and romance - or in other words, it's a film about "strangers", a term repeatedly used in the narrative. Based on a stage production of the same title, 'Closer' is a dialogue driven movie that contains a great deal of dirty or obscene words. It's not like the foul-mouthed classic, 'Pulp Fiction', in which the f word serves as an intensifier; in this movie, the obscene terms are literally used to describe processes of sexual intercourse - while they are meant to provoke the listening character in the film, some audience members may as well find it very difficult to take. If one can keep an open mind and just understand the film as it is presented, the experience is very much worthwhile as the dialogue is indeed extremely well written and undoubtedly highly entertaining.
Given that the film is originally a stage production, it could be expected that the narrative is reasonably compact. The love (or otherwise) between characters can change in a split second; in a way, the rapid progression of the plot is at times both unpredictable and simply incredible. The film looks a bit too dramatic in certain episodes (such as the opening sequence involving Alice and Dan), in which the characters look two-faced and almost unreal. However, explanations towards the characters' eccentric behaviours (such as Dan and Alice's final scene together) are embedded everywhere in the film, and some of the seemingly bizarre sequences can be understood and better appreciated if the viewer has the patience to piece the hints in the narrative together. And trust me, the effort is highly rewarding.
The charm of 'Closer' is solely dependent on its characters, and it's a pleasure that the four leads all give creditable performances in the movie. While Julia Roberts and Jude Law successfully shake off their typical Hollywood images to take up unlikable roles, Clive Owen, who played the role of Dan in the original play, is fantastic in his portrayal of a complicated character that combines a loving husband and a creep. But the ultimate accolade is reserved for Natalie Portman. I've been a big fan of hers since I was 12 (note: so I'm still young!) when she starred in Luc Besson's 'Leon', and despite her generally satisfactory performances throughout the many movies since then, her talent can hardly be recognised even in such a big production as in the 'Star Wars' trilogy. 'Closer' undoubtedly stands as one of the best adult roles she's played in, and certainly the most significant one.
'Closer' is a relentless statement against the notion of "happily ever after". You'll feel deeply to this movie if you've ever fallen for a bastard or, more unfortunately, you're the bastard him/herself. But seriously, who aren't?
rating: 8/10