So I tried to watch this movie tonight. I got to the part where Daniel was at the photography exhibit, sent Alice off in a taxi, and went back inside to talk to Anna.
At this point I just could not finish it. It’s just not my type of movie, I guess. I couldn’t get into all these lying, smarmy, cheating characters. I did feel sorry for Alice though.
But I am curious about what happens, who gets together with whom, who gets shat upon, if there’s a surprise ending. I just don’t want to sit through it–it was just kind of painful to watch. I don’t know why, it just was.
Anna and her dermatologist get married, she leaves him and goes with Daniel. Alice and Daniel break up and Alice goed back to stripping. Dermatologist guy sleeps with Alice (we find out much later). Anna gets back together with dermatologist and Daniel gets back together with Alice. BUT Daniel finds out Alice slept with dermatologist and slaps her. Alice leaves him. In the end, we and Daniel find out her name isn’t really Alice Ayrs. Alice Ayrs was a name on one of the tombstones in that park for heroes. Her real name is Jane Jones.
My husband and I saw this in previews, and it was horrible to sit through. Not a horrible movie, but painful and squirm-worthy. On his comment card, my husband declared it:
“The Worst Date Movie Ever!”
It’s one of those where I’m sitting there on the couch and it’s building and building and next thing I know, I’m slamming my head back against the cushion again and again going, “I can’t sit through another friggin’ minute of this.”
I couldn’t even through the OP here without recalling that feeling.
Perhaps I’m genuinely alone here, but I really enjoyed “Closer”. I found the acting exceptional and the writing as realistic a I’ve heard. The movie actually caused quite an emotional response in me. It was one of the few movies I’ve seen that even hours later was still bouncing around in my head. I intend to purchase it on DVD.
Now all of the above comes with one rather large disclaimer: I was in the middle of a painful break-up at the time…so I uppose that could have easily swayed my reactions.
Even still - I’d recommend it, even if only to see Natalie Portman in next to nothing during the strip club scene.
I’ve considered it! I can be a cinematic masochist. I own Eyes Wide Shut AND Magnolia.
But…but…it was such a DISTURBING scene! Yes, she was hot. But…but…sputters ick!
(No, I can’t be any more articulate. The movie left me fairly speechless. And feeling like I needed to wash and sanitize my soul. But yes, it was brilliantly written, acted and directed. It evoked all sorts of emotional responses in me. It sat with me for not only hours, but weeks later. Like a bad case of malaria, in fact - running through a pediatric ward with no antivirals in sight.)
Allure of the trainwreck doesn’t begin to describe it.
Just more mind games, this time between Alice & Larry (dermatologist Clive Owen) in the strip club where she’s working and he’s a client in one of the back rooms. No overt physicality, but lots of acidic banter, with partial nudity from Ms. Portman. It’s the only scene they have together, IIRC.
It’s also in this scene that she first reveals her real name, but Larry doesn’t believe her.
Yeah, but nothing good happens to anyone in this film, and ultimately, each character is so selfish and self-centered, it didn’t really matter to me that they were each unhappy.
Agreed that the writing was good, that the acting was well-done, but the whole didn’t equal the sum of the parts. It’s a movie that is “powerful” and “intense” but doesn’t amount to anything.
As someone who watched the movie twice, I half agree and disagree. Yes, none of the characters were sympathetic. In fact, I was all prepared to hate each cheater throughout the movie. But something happened between the writing and acting. The movie is definitely difficult but it forced me to reconsider what love is and the power of faithfulness and loyalty. Is love joy in owning someone mind body and soul? Or can love be a choice? What should or can you hold back from someone you love? And finally, why do people derive so much joy in owning someone sexually?
Watching it the first time was so painful. The second time, the movie actually became enjoyable.
