March 01, 2006

A closer look at 'Closer'

Just seen the movie 'Closer' for the second time and had to write a review on it. A favourable review of course, since I loved the movie! Here's how the story goes: Dan (Jude Law) meets and falls in love with Alice Ayres (Natalie Portman) and leaves his girlfriend for her. The first duplicity!
Then, a year later during a photo shoot for his new book, he meets Anna (Julia Roberts) and is immediately and incredibly attracted to her (" I have to see you again!"). The second duplicity. Then, inadvertently, through a gag gone wrong, Anna meets Larry (Clive Owen) a dermatologist, falls in love with him and they get married. Dan, in the meanwhile is constantly ‘lurking’ in Anna's life. He's obsessed with her and eventually Anna succumbs. The third duplicity! They have an affair for a year and finally break the news to their respective partners who are very much in love with them. Here, Alice's berating, "There's always a moment when you can say no!’No I won't succumb', is particularly thought provoking. Here the plot fast forwards four months. Anna meets Larry to get his signature on their divorce papers. Larry uses a bit of mental manipulation to get Anna into bed and then advices her that 'such things are best not hidden' and she should tell Dan. When Dan finds out he is distressed and rightly accuses Anna of not having the courage to let Larry hate her by refusing him his need of her. Fast forward a few weeks. Dan pays Larry a visit at his clinic to demand Anna back. (Yeah, Anna goes back to Larry. Another duplicity, this time Dan's the victim. And yeah, I've stopped keeping track of the number of duplicities!). Instead he leaves with Alice's address. You see, while Dan and Anna were together, Larry met and bedded Alice. She even told him her real name which Dan doesn't ever get to know.
Does Dan get Alice back? I'll leave that part for you to discover when you watch the movie. And I strongly recommend that you do! Each of the characters are brilliantly portrayed.
The biggest strength about the movie according to me, is how it captures human emotions and expresses them in words.
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