#6 - Closer

Oh man. This movie is guilty pleasure after guilty pleasure. And I'm not just talking about the scenes with Natalie Portman as a stripper. There are so many interesting things going on with this movie, I almost dont know where to begin. Basically, this is a movie about relationships, love, sex, honesty, fidelity, trust, and everything in between. Each of the four main characters have moments of dishonesty, as well as mistrust and heartache because of it. The intertweaving relationships between them are extremely compelling, dynamic, and just plain 'ol fun to watch.

Alright, stay with me here because I am going to attempt a synopsis of the initial raltionships of the characters...in one sentence. So, Jude Law is a writing struggling to write a novel and sees Natalie Portman get hit by a car and helps her out which helps her fall in love with him which eventually leads to marriage and the completion of his novel which is having the picture for the dust jacket taken by Julia Roberts whom he develops a crush for but does not respond so he tries tricky little games by sending Clive Owen to meet her thinkinga random stranger is going to have sex with him but finds out he was tricked but still is charmed by her and they eventually get married. Got all that?

The scene where Jude Law tricks Clive Owen is so much fun. My policy for all of my reviews is that the "no spoiler" rule is 100% waived. I figure that the movies are on DVD so you've had your chance. But I will use the rule in situations where I feel a good moment in a good movie could be ruined for someone who hasn't seen it. For example, I somehow managed to avoid hearing the ending for The Sixth Sense for months and it made a HUGE difference for me because I was able to get involved in the story as presented to me. Anyways, I'm not going to tell you how Jude Law tricks Clive Owen. Just know that the scene is great and the scene that follows with Julia Roberts is great as well.

Speaking of Julia Roberts and Clive Owen, they have a scene where he confronts her about her fidelity and it is unbelievably strong and intense. In this scene, Clive Owen is so powerful it was literally jaw dropping. I tell you, I didn't know squat about Clive Owen until recently, but seeing him in this movie and in Sin City I have to say, this guy is GOOD. Everyone in this film is truly commited to the characters and the story about them. There are so many scenes of dynamic acting and character interaction that the film is truly compelling from start to finish. If you haven't seen it, go see it.