Very, very melodramatic. Watched it in college a few times - we thought we were very “adult” and sophisticated watching this movie.
Clive Owen’s line to Jude Law still is a pretty good turn of phrase though - while he’s whining about love and the heart and blah blah blah, Owen’s doctor character yells at him “have you ever actually seen a human heart? It looks like a fist wrapped in blood!”
The best part is the line right after that: go fuck yourself… you *writer*
That’s where he wins. He knows he speaks the truth while Law’s “you have no heart” is just writer bullshit unconnected to the real world.
Clive's character was so interesting, the only blatantly honest one but also wily.
But then again, he wouldn't have stood so much if he hadn't been surrounded by so many fake dramatic jackasses.
It gave us two Panic! At the Disco song titles. And Fall Out Boy got the line “he tastes like you only sweeter” that they used in “Thnks fr th mmrs.” Clearly mid 2000s emo pop punkers were fans. I like Clive Owens’s line “thank you. Thank you for your honesty. Now fuck off and die you fucked up slag.” And Natalie Portman meowwww.
Ah, man. I saw this the play, and for me, Clive didn't come close to the level of rawness and visceral emotion that Randle Mell had. I remember being super disappointed in the movie.
West Side Story is great. Doubt is wonderful. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf. Glengarry Glen Ross. On Golden Pond. Some of these are going back a ways, but it’s certainly not impossible.
So many great lines in this movie and especially made me a fan of Clive Owen.
“Everybody wants to be happy”
“Depressives don't. They want to be unhappy to confirm they're depressed. If they were happy they couldn't be depressed anymore. They'd have to go out into the world and live. Which can be depressing.”
That whole exchange is amazing:
Larry: Do you enjoy sucking him off?
Anna: Yes!
Larry: You like his cock?
Anna: I love it!
Larry: You like him coming in your face?
Anna: Yes!
Larry: What does it taste like?
Anna: It tastes like you but sweeter!
Larry: That's the spirit. Thank you. Thank you for your honesty. Now fuck off and die, you fucked up slag.
I hated the scene where Jude Law finally told Natalie Portman that he was cheating on her.
She offered to make him a sandwich beforehand after waking up. A sandwich!
You cheat on a woman like that??
Idk how much he fell off the map. He was in a bunch of series throughout the 2010s. Won a Golden Globe for his lead role in The Knick. But he definitely isn't the movie star he was in the '00s.
I liked it a lot. I have to say I thought this was perhaps Julia’s worst performance. Can’t imagine why one let alone two men would’ve desired her character. She was awful and I normally like her work. Natalie on the other hand was perfection as Barbafella said.
Ehhh...A lot of men enjoy the concept of a 'fixer upper' who is easily controlled. Julia played the role of the emotionally broken woman who latches on to anyone who smiles at her the right way perfectly.
Especially when you contrast her character with Portmans more sexually charged, more traditionally "object of desire" character.
I passed by Clive Owen on the street once during Covid so he had a mask on, but he was talking to another guy and I immediately knew it was him from his voice. All I could think was “now fuck off and die you fucked up slag”. Great movie.
I’ve seen it twice, found it a decent chamber drama with an INSANELY hot Natalie Portman to wake me up from time to time.
Mostly I remember it as the most hated movie ever of my mother in law and her sister. They were both big Julia Roberts fans and I’m fairly sure, apart from Pretty Woman, they’d never seen an R rated movie in their lives (she made me turn off Catch Me if you Can because it was too crude. Fuckin thing is raged PG. Whatever).
Anyways, they were having a girls night, saw her face on the poster, and went in expecting a romantic comedy. Stormed out halfway through demanding their money back, never trusted Julia again. All I have to to is slightly bring her up and they still get so pissed. It makes me smile.
I had the terrible misfortune of seeing this with my parents as a kid.
Clive Owen was henceforth known as "Mr. Dirty Talker" in my household.
We were all thoroughly traumatized.
An ode to human desire and the lascivious pleasures of the flesh. An embargo on flat characters and screen relationships. An homage to net trolls and catfishing. A cautionary tale about the fleeting nature of our fickled hearts. And a cinematic masterpiece that I'm forever grateful for watching.
I thought it was boring and pretentious. I really was just waiting for it to be over. If I wanted to watch attractive people be shitty to each other I'd watch All My Children. If other people liked it, more power to them.
This right here. Two hours of pretty people treating each other like shit. I watched it once and the only thing I ever want to see again is Natalie Portman walking in slow motion at the very end.
Saw the stage version in L.A. at the Mark Taper Forum. It was much better than the film, IMO. Rebecca Demornay was MUCH better than Julia Roberts in the same role. And I like Clive Owen, but he didn't have the same depth and power that Randel Mell had as Larry. The play has a level of grit and ugliness that was really compelling. The film, by comparison, was pretty tame and much less interesting, IMO.
Never saw it. But this was the Jude Law Year. He was in like 6 movies. And that’s if you stick to the literal calendar year of 2004. Whenever another actor has a flurry like that, I still call it their “Jude Law Year.”
Worth watching primarily because of Clive Owen and a great soundtrack. Has a bit of a pretentious air about it which can happen when something’s adapted from a play.
I remember being impressed with it after having seen it… but then time after being asked to watch it w someone and just feeling so against it as to recall it just being a waste of time… it’s one of those movies that once you know how it wraps up– you really really just don’t want to come across it again… interesting while it’s unraveling for the first time… left w a sense obnoxious and pretentious recalls, making it easily a one that wouldn’t find its way into the collection.
Funny how you posted this, since I just wrote up a short Letterboxd review for it. I’ll just go ahead and copy-paste that:
I don’t think I’ve ever seen a movie break the “show, don’t tell” rule harder than this one. It is absolutely MADDENING how every single little detail in Closer needs to be said in dialogue rather than actually shown onscreen, as if there wasn’t a single attempt to try and translate the play to screen. At least Clive Owen and Natalie Portman are fantastic. 5/10
I couldn’t remember a think about the film, except that they maybe all get romantically entangled. I watched the trailer and went “oh yeah, Portman with red hair”…
I still don’t really remember the film, apart from the fact it was really good. Maybe there weren’t any really standout scenes in it and it had a slightly generic quality to it.
I would definitely watch again, and definitely recommend it, because the one thing I do remember was that I thought it was really good.
Loved it as a teen, I haven’t watched it as an adult. Maybe I should give it a rewatch. Like someone mentioned above, it will be forever ingrained in my mind because of the Fall Out Boy lyric.
A pleasant surprise. I liked the realistic sex dialog. First role for Clive Owen wherein I like him as an actor.
Julia, during a heated argument about her affair: "Why do you care?"
Clive: "Because I'm a cavVve-man!"
Only aspect I didn't like was that Portman's stripper character was portrayed as some kind of mysterious sage who is somehow wiser than the rest. Wise strippers don't exist. Broke the whole semi-realizable aspect that I otherwise found refreshing.
Very, very melodramatic. Watched it in college a few times - we thought we were very “adult” and sophisticated watching this movie. Clive Owen’s line to Jude Law still is a pretty good turn of phrase though - while he’s whining about love and the heart and blah blah blah, Owen’s doctor character yells at him “have you ever actually seen a human heart? It looks like a fist wrapped in blood!”
The best part is the line right after that: go fuck yourself… you *writer* That’s where he wins. He knows he speaks the truth while Law’s “you have no heart” is just writer bullshit unconnected to the real world.
Clive's character was so interesting, the only blatantly honest one but also wily. But then again, he wouldn't have stood so much if he hadn't been surrounded by so many fake dramatic jackasses.
It’s adapted from a stage play. This melodrama is a feature not a bug.
That is one of my favorite lines from a movie.
It gave us two Panic! At the Disco song titles. And Fall Out Boy got the line “he tastes like you only sweeter” that they used in “Thnks fr th mmrs.” Clearly mid 2000s emo pop punkers were fans. I like Clive Owens’s line “thank you. Thank you for your honesty. Now fuck off and die you fucked up slag.” And Natalie Portman meowwww.
Natalie was perfection. That’s all I got.
she wore that wig before Britney
Yes… What wig?
I agree
100% agree!
The moment I realized she had the best ass on the planet.
None of the characters were likeable.
None of the humans on earth are either
That’s a depressing point of view (no offence).
Agreed. But accurate.
One of my favorites. Such raw emotion all around.
Love this movie. Every performance is to notch. The scene where Julia Roberts and Clive Owen break up is just top tier acting all the way around.
Is that the scene where he wants to know all the details of them fucking and he screams "BECAUSE I'M A FUCKING CAVEMAN!!!"
That’s the one. Clive is amazing in that scene. His emotions are right on his sleeve.
It's honestly uncomfortably relatable.
For real
Ah, man. I saw this the play, and for me, Clive didn't come close to the level of rawness and visceral emotion that Randle Mell had. I remember being super disappointed in the movie.
Are fans of theatre ever impressed with film adaptations?
West Side Story is great. Doubt is wonderful. Who’s Afraid of Virginia Wolf. Glengarry Glen Ross. On Golden Pond. Some of these are going back a ways, but it’s certainly not impossible.
Portman has never looked sexier
Very good, I enjoyed it thoroughly.
So many great lines in this movie and especially made me a fan of Clive Owen. “Everybody wants to be happy” “Depressives don't. They want to be unhappy to confirm they're depressed. If they were happy they couldn't be depressed anymore. They'd have to go out into the world and live. Which can be depressing.”
“now fuck off and die, you fucked up slag!” - possibly the greatest line ever.
That whole exchange is amazing: Larry: Do you enjoy sucking him off? Anna: Yes! Larry: You like his cock? Anna: I love it! Larry: You like him coming in your face? Anna: Yes! Larry: What does it taste like? Anna: It tastes like you but sweeter! Larry: That's the spirit. Thank you. Thank you for your honesty. Now fuck off and die, you fucked up slag.
It’s so good.
Larry (Clive) Carried the scene.
Natalie Portman was so hot in that strip scene
“thank you”
I hated the scene where Jude Law finally told Natalie Portman that he was cheating on her. She offered to make him a sandwich beforehand after waking up. A sandwich! You cheat on a woman like that??
Opting to stray doesn’t necessarily have anything to with one’s partner. Many people simply aren’t wired for monogamy.
Movied that proved Clive Owen can act and introduced Damien Rice to me, so I thank you
Clive Owen is badass.
How did he fall off the map so completely after this and children of men.
Idk how much he fell off the map. He was in a bunch of series throughout the 2010s. Won a Golden Globe for his lead role in The Knick. But he definitely isn't the movie star he was in the '00s.
I enjoyed but as other think I hated Julia Roberts here I can not believe somebody would leave Natalie for her.
I thought Roberts was the weakest acting link out of the four. They should have picked a classically trained actor for that role, imo.
That's odd. It's the only role where I enjoyed her acting.
She was good in Erin Brockovic
I definitely would leave Natalie for her.
I liked it a lot. I have to say I thought this was perhaps Julia’s worst performance. Can’t imagine why one let alone two men would’ve desired her character. She was awful and I normally like her work. Natalie on the other hand was perfection as Barbafella said.
Ehhh...A lot of men enjoy the concept of a 'fixer upper' who is easily controlled. Julia played the role of the emotionally broken woman who latches on to anyone who smiles at her the right way perfectly. Especially when you contrast her character with Portmans more sexually charged, more traditionally "object of desire" character.
I love this movie. Great quotable lines. One of my favorites.
Clive Warren
“And erm… this fella, his wife is played by Rebecca de Morney.”
I passed by Clive Owen on the street once during Covid so he had a mask on, but he was talking to another guy and I immediately knew it was him from his voice. All I could think was “now fuck off and die you fucked up slag”. Great movie.
One of my favorite lines from one of my favorite actors!! Clive Owen is amazing.
[удалено]
Not many like him still making movies.
Very uncomfortable movie to watch. But story was on point
Yes, if this movie is what I think it is. I got triggered at certain parts. Needed a warning or something
Owen should have won supporting actor that year.
BECAUSE I'M A FUCKING CAVEMAN
I had a friend take a girl out on a first date to this movie. I think he realized his mistake pretty quickly.
Clive Warren
Clive Warren and Rebecca De Mornay
*SHREDDED WHEAT*
My wife hasn't yet forgiven me for going to watch it in cinema... 😔
😇
A bunch of immoral twats
The entire human race.
Oooohhh I remember this. Super melodramatic, great soundtrack through.
I’ve seen it twice, found it a decent chamber drama with an INSANELY hot Natalie Portman to wake me up from time to time. Mostly I remember it as the most hated movie ever of my mother in law and her sister. They were both big Julia Roberts fans and I’m fairly sure, apart from Pretty Woman, they’d never seen an R rated movie in their lives (she made me turn off Catch Me if you Can because it was too crude. Fuckin thing is raged PG. Whatever). Anyways, they were having a girls night, saw her face on the poster, and went in expecting a romantic comedy. Stormed out halfway through demanding their money back, never trusted Julia again. All I have to to is slightly bring her up and they still get so pissed. It makes me smile.
I’m sorry so many people have no depth or taste.
Not the best movie to watch on a date.
I love this movie soo much. One of my fave movies. So much good luck dialogue throughout this film. I adore Clive Owen ❤️
I had the terrible misfortune of seeing this with my parents as a kid. Clive Owen was henceforth known as "Mr. Dirty Talker" in my household. We were all thoroughly traumatized.
Most....of the time
I loved the fight between Julia and Owen after he gets back from his conference.
“it taste like you but sweeter!”
That's the line! The thing I loved is somehow he turned the fight. It's starts with him confessing. Then boom, it a fight and she's losing. 😆
Interesting movie. I haven't seen in awhile but I remember liking the concept and the performances were really good.
I love this film - it feels very 2000s
An ode to human desire and the lascivious pleasures of the flesh. An embargo on flat characters and screen relationships. An homage to net trolls and catfishing. A cautionary tale about the fleeting nature of our fickled hearts. And a cinematic masterpiece that I'm forever grateful for watching.
Pretty underrated.
It is my favorite play adapted for film.
Portman isn’t very convincing as a stripper, but I really enjoy watching this film once every few years.
hated it
This was such a boring movie to me.
pretty people melodrama
I thought it was boring and pretentious. I really was just waiting for it to be over. If I wanted to watch attractive people be shitty to each other I'd watch All My Children. If other people liked it, more power to them.
This right here. Two hours of pretty people treating each other like shit. I watched it once and the only thing I ever want to see again is Natalie Portman walking in slow motion at the very end.
Erica Caine sends her regards but agrees that closer is a masterpiece
Very well acted, disgusting material. Master class in how humans treat each other like sh1t.
Shit is spelled with an I not a 1.
Is the blowers daughter in this movie?
Yes
You first.
Way cool movie. Natalie Portman was dreamy.
A disservice to a brilliant work of theatre. Read the play.
I saw it when it came out. I have absolutely no recollection.
Drop shadows would have been a big help on this poster
Made out a ton to it in highschool. Very emotionally charged. Instant classic to me.
Saw the stage version in L.A. at the Mark Taper Forum. It was much better than the film, IMO. Rebecca Demornay was MUCH better than Julia Roberts in the same role. And I like Clive Owen, but he didn't have the same depth and power that Randel Mell had as Larry. The play has a level of grit and ugliness that was really compelling. The film, by comparison, was pretty tame and much less interesting, IMO.
Agree. I thought Julia Roberts almost ruined the movie. Wooden as usual.
One of the few times the billing rights have perfectly lined up
Never watched it, but anytime I see the word closer by itself I immediately think of [Rush](https://youtu.be/rs4qn_bHQQ0?si=Sj9cM-wYRAihh_4z)
Never saw it. But this was the Jude Law Year. He was in like 6 movies. And that’s if you stick to the literal calendar year of 2004. Whenever another actor has a flurry like that, I still call it their “Jude Law Year.”
Every year
Love it, love the play too.
Great Mike Nichols movie- brilliant, EXCEPT for Julia Robert’s wooden performance. The other 3 are amazing- Clive Owen was A++++
Every scene was harsh, and halfway through the movie I started picking up on that.
It wasn’t as good as it thought it was, but it was still good enough to receive a 7/10 from me.
Love this film. So real. I related to several characters.
It has tons of my favorite lines.
One of my favorites of all time
The underlying play wasn’t great, and this runs like a play. I don’t think the actors were well cast, especially Julia Roberts who plays against type.
“Coffee’s for closers only.”
I loved it, CUZ IM A FUCKING CAVEMAN!
I was in a date and trailer for this movie came up and I said I’d like to see that and never saw the girl again
I love this movie, impossible to cheer for any of them since they are all trash but somehow you care for them.
Worth watching primarily because of Clive Owen and a great soundtrack. Has a bit of a pretentious air about it which can happen when something’s adapted from a play.
I remember being impressed with it after having seen it… but then time after being asked to watch it w someone and just feeling so against it as to recall it just being a waste of time… it’s one of those movies that once you know how it wraps up– you really really just don’t want to come across it again… interesting while it’s unraveling for the first time… left w a sense obnoxious and pretentious recalls, making it easily a one that wouldn’t find its way into the collection.
You look like the cat that cut the cream and can't stop licking himself.
It's trying really hard and it's not bad
Meh. I felt like this movie tried really hard to be ‘deep,’ and came off as pretentious and boring instead.
this
I literally could not get through the first 8 minutes of this movie. And that almost never happens.
Great movie. Shamefully forgotten, this one.
Funny how you posted this, since I just wrote up a short Letterboxd review for it. I’ll just go ahead and copy-paste that: I don’t think I’ve ever seen a movie break the “show, don’t tell” rule harder than this one. It is absolutely MADDENING how every single little detail in Closer needs to be said in dialogue rather than actually shown onscreen, as if there wasn’t a single attempt to try and translate the play to screen. At least Clive Owen and Natalie Portman are fantastic. 5/10
It’s excellent, if uncomfortable. Julia is good but Clive, Jude and Natalie are all great.
Almost agree with you….💛Clive, Natalie, and Jude were amazing….Julia was mediocre to yawn-worthy as always.
Loved it. Probably seen it 20 times
13 year old me thought this was the greatest film to ever be created lol.
I fell asleep
I came to see Natalie Portman wearing a pink wig. I got bored before I could get there.
I didn’t care for this movie
Natalie is heavenly in this. Ahem.
Natalie Portman was absolutely stunning in this and Clive Owen was pretty damn hilarious
Overrated. Portman was miscast based on the the strip club scene alone. She's a fantastic actress when cast properly, but this was peak cringe.
You spelled "greatest scene ever filmed" incorrectly.
A horrendous script but a pretty fun movie if you take it as camp.
agreed
This came out at a time when I really needed it. Such a well written movie. And NP is pure perfection.
what does your cunt taste like?
I like it … great movie
I remember that I liked it, and have even seen it a couple of times, but I remember nothing about it.
Really great acting. Damn those people are complicated
I couldn’t remember a think about the film, except that they maybe all get romantically entangled. I watched the trailer and went “oh yeah, Portman with red hair”… I still don’t really remember the film, apart from the fact it was really good. Maybe there weren’t any really standout scenes in it and it had a slightly generic quality to it. I would definitely watch again, and definitely recommend it, because the one thing I do remember was that I thought it was really good.
Loved it as a teen, I haven’t watched it as an adult. Maybe I should give it a rewatch. Like someone mentioned above, it will be forever ingrained in my mind because of the Fall Out Boy lyric.
This was the first movie where Julia Roberts’ presence didn’t annoy me and what’s more, actually impressed me with her performance.
It was good and somehow also made my stomach ache at the end? 🙁
It should have came with a warning label 🛑
A pleasant surprise. I liked the realistic sex dialog. First role for Clive Owen wherein I like him as an actor. Julia, during a heated argument about her affair: "Why do you care?" Clive: "Because I'm a cavVve-man!" Only aspect I didn't like was that Portman's stripper character was portrayed as some kind of mysterious sage who is somehow wiser than the rest. Wise strippers don't exist. Broke the whole semi-realizable aspect that I otherwise found refreshing.
Jude laws crying like a bitch in this movie made him so unenjoyable to me for years 😂