Regie:
Mike NicholsKamera:
Stephen GoldblattBesetzung:
Julia Roberts, Jude Law, Natalie Portman, Clive Owen, Nick Hobbs, Colin Stinton, Elizabeth BowerStreaming (5)
Inhalte(1)
Der Schriftsteller Dan lebt mit der ehemaligen Stripperin Alice zusammen. Eines Tages lernt er die Fotografin Anna kennen und verliebt sich in sie. Als Anna eine Beziehung ablehnt, vereinbart Dan ohne ihr Wissen ein erotisches Date zwischen Anna und dem Arzt Larry. Anna und Larry verlieben sich tatsächlich und heiraten. Aber Dan gibt nicht auf, und versucht erneut, Anna zu verführen. Nach mehreren erfolglosen Versuchen scheint dem Schriftsteller Dan (Jude Law) endlich der große Coup gelungen zu sein. Dans neuer Roman über seine Freundin, die ehemalige Stripperin Alice (Natalie Portman), soll aufwendig vermarktet werden. Bei einer Fotosession in London lernt Dan die Fotografin Anna (Julia Roberts) kennen und verliebt sich in sie. Aber Anna lehnt Dans Wunsch nach einer Beziehung ab. Aus Rache vereinbart Dan im Namen Annas ein erotisches Date mit dem Arzt Larry (Clive Owen). Zufällig begegnen sich Anna und Larry tatsächlich am vereinbarten Treffpunkt. Wenig später sind die beiden verheiratet. Während die Beziehung zwischen Dan und Alice in die Brüche geht, kommt es auch in der Ehe zwischen Anna und Larry zu Spannungen. Anna trennt sich von ihrem Mann und beginnt ein Verhältnis mit Dan. Doch Annes Ehebetrug und Dans Seitensprung stürzen ihre jeweiligen Partner in eine tiefe Existenzkrise mit schwerwiegenden Folgen. (ServusTV)
(mehr)Kritiken (12)
Sexually open, but not explicit (on a verbal level only). The acting quartet is impressive, the individual actors remarkably type-matched to their characters, and the overall performance comes across as a little over-the-top in places, but impressive theatrically. Some of the dialogue is very peppy, but there’s a good deal of justification in its bluntness and crudeness if you can identify with the individual characters and empathize with their feelings, at least for a moment. A cruel, cynical, and very enlightening drama with excellent directing and outstanding performances. My first Mike Nichols.
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Eine Soap-Opera für anspruchsvollere Zuschauer*innen. Provokativ, frech, schleimig, geschickt gedreht (im Hinblick auf die Interieur-Möglichkeiten) und vor allem fantastisch gespielt. Liebe, Falsch, Intrigen, Rache. Im letzten Drittel ist es aber schon zu viel – ein wenig Leichtigkeit wäre nicht schlecht gewesen.
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In einem Hollywood-Film mit einem Mainstream-A-Cast ist Hautnah ziemlich mutig mit seinen Themen, Sprache und Darstellung von Sexualität. Das zentrale Schauspielquartett liefert eine meisterhafte Leistung ab, wobei besonders Clive Owen seine Rolle ausdrücklich genießt und hervorragend spielt. Ein bisschen hat mich gestört, dass der Film aufgrund seiner Länge und der Zyklen des Plots insbesondere in der zweiten Hälfte leicht repetitiv wirkt und die Zeitsprünge oft ziemlich brutal sind. Eine gut gemachte dramatische Fummelei, aber ich könnte mir vorstellen, dass es noch ausgefeilter sein könnte.
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“Where is the love?” Scenes from relationship life for the 21st century. Nichols does not in any way try to disguise the film’s theatrical origins; on the contrary, the chosen structure (several long conversational segments), perfectly timed dialogue and classical music accentuate them. It is only after the encounter at the exhibition that he begins to cut between the individual couples’ dialogue scenes, thus giving the impression that their stories are more closely intertwined and influence each other to the point that they cannot be together because of the others (the flashback to the signing of divorce papers, which is interspersed with Dan and Anna’s conversation in the theatre, serves the same purpose). I consider the big jumps in time, which we are usually informed about ex post and as if in passing through dialogue (we’ve been dating for four months, we got together a year ago, he left me three months ago...) to be a courageous decision, as they bring the film closer to a time-lapse documentary that captures only the turning points of relationships. Unlike Bergman, however, Closer is not a carefully nuanced psychological drama, but a contrived melodrama full of walking (arche)types, “chance” encounters and bookish-sounding lines, and throughout its runtime, I wasn't sure to what extent it was aware of its own exaggeration and unnaturalness or the extent to which it was convinced that it was revealing the unvarnished truth about love and relationships, or something along those lines. Many scenes, such as the bitter conclusion, graphically illustrating the fact that we often truly get to know even the most beloved person after they have left us (i.e. when it is too late), suggest that the simplistic characterisation of the characters was a way to convey a universal, almost allegorical story in which everyone who has ever experienced the ambivalent feeling of not knowing whether to kill or fuck the one you love (as in the last dialogue scene of Dan and Larry) can see themselves. So, there is some sort of life lesson to be learned from that. Personally, however, I prefer films that don’t pretend to have depth where there is none. 70%
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When a relationship is a personal threat and the thought of a more serious commitment suddenly becomes unpleasant. Mike Nichols knows how to implant an unbearable bug of uncertainty and ignorance about the people you love, thus sounding the alarm about the purpose of their search. Sometimes you simply don't want to know everything about the other person, and only at the eleventh hour will you realize the key aspect behind your emotions – the mystery of the other. And then it's too late to avoid all the cruelties because no matter what you say now, nothing will ever be the same. You will lose yourself and yet still be close. Closer – but still not there. An emotional mess, but cinematic perfection.
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A huge disappointment for me, unfortunately... the whole thing was chaotic and above all insanely sleazy. The only one who kept her poise in my eyes was Julia Roberts. So overdone and needlessly depressed. Clive Owen was completely unappealing here and Natalie Portman seemed so flaccid. Jude Law was once again a little off... Even though the film was up for 4 stars, I'm only giving 3 and will try to forget the whole thing.
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An intimately conceived romantic drama, clearly inspired by the theatrical version, whose success is supported by excellent dialogues, a quality screenplay, and top-notch acting performances. Since the film is based on a play, a significant part of the story takes place indoors, somewhat resembling a more expensive television production. All four of the engaged stars deserve the highest rating for their performance, although Julia Roberts lags behind just a bit. It is reliably directed by the experienced Mike Nichols, with visually appealing shots of Natalie Portman dressed as a stripper, which will be sure to attract male viewers. Compared to the theatrical version, the film concludes much more sentimentally and romantically. Overall impression: 90%.
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Closer is an extraordinary social-conversation drama, describing human relationships in all their authenticity.
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For me it was disappointing. Nichols shoots beautifully and the actors give their all to their roles, but the script shows almost no attempt at a deeply dramatic epic or plot loop. The characters swim in an ocean of titillating sexual fantasy, but the average viewer sort of stands on the shore and hopes to at least drool over a naked Queen Padmé or Pretty Woman, but we never get that, unfortunately, even though Natalie has a lot of talent as a stripper.
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(KVIFF 2024) Closer is intimate romantic drama, artfully written and with believable performances, centered around a love quadrangle and somewhat volatile 'climaxes'. All four actors do their roles to perfection, with Clive Owen nailing it the most. I was a little distracted by the time jumps at first, but you notice this almost immediately. Closer is very sensual film, without any explicit sex scenes – there’s ample use of spicy dialogue (and chats). One of the good things is that you basically have no idea until the very end how geometrical a constellation the whole story will reach.
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I wonder what the creators were trying to convey with this work. All four main characters behaved like idiots, the dialogue was simply "amazing", and I really enjoyed the "interesting" and apparently highly artistic treatment of time. It wasn't just boring, it was super boring.
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A quite pleasantly tangled story that focuses on one of the still burning topics - sexuality. What do we actually want and what do we dare to demand? Are our desires accessible to others? Can we share them without people looking at us weirdly? Do we still understand what love really is and can we fall in love? "Closer" is a film about four people whose lives interconnect. Sometimes too much, sometimes only briefly, but the consequences can be more serious. Two Americans and two Englishmen. Their lives come together and then separate again. Who is actually dating whom? And who is sleeping with whom? After a while, one starts to feel that they start to combine with each other regardless of gender. Julia Roberts is a photographer who doesn't know whom she really wants. Jude Law is a young and promising writer who doesn't know whom he really wants. Clive Owen is a doctor who knows what he wants and also gets it. He describes himself as a primitive. And he actually is a little bit. And finally, Natalie Portman. What is she actually? Just a woman who loves? Or is there more to her? What is she hiding from? Her boyfriend? Or from the man who became her customer for one night at a strip club? Relationships between people are very complicated, but only because we complicate them ourselves. We demand certain values that are completely senseless, while we ourselves behave completely differently. Can we still be happy? Or do we just live a life that goes from birth to death without finding true happiness? This film, although it may not seem so, is actually quite disturbing. It doesn't deal with the apocalypse of the world, but with the apocalypse of mankind. More: http://www.filmovy-denik.cz/2012/10/ztraceno-v-prekladu-4-bratri-na-dotek.html
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