CLOSER Review

We haven't been to the movies in a great while -- I think this whole TV on DVD thing has contributed to it

Tonight we went to see CLOSER -- a movie that is fairly well loved by the critics, but fairly mixed among the general audience

I think that a movie would be pressed hard to meet the performances in this one -- they are excellent top to bottom. I think some wanted to see if Natalie Portman could outshine Julia Roberts -- well, it's a deadlock, and both are truly wonderful

Jude Law is largely outshined by Clive Owen -- just brilliant in his performance as the malignantly evil dermatologist -- who knew skin doctors had it in them?

In terms of story, it's straightforward -- I think the movie is largely what you bring to it

What I mean is that, the movie coalesces around these issues:

Do you believe in love at first sight?

Even if you find true love, would you still keep looking?

Is the truth the best policy in relationships?

At what length would you deceive and manipulate a lover, yet still claim to be in love with them?

Okay, so the talking after seeing it in the final analysis may be better than the movie itself

The timing context of the movie is to subtly move time ahead months and years without letting the audience know it -- you have to figure it out from the dialogue or context -- I'm not a great fan of it, but I can see why they used the approach in the film

Lots of great music, including the underrated jazzy smoldering vocal stylings of Bebel Gilberto, largely from her 2000 effort, Tanto Tempo -- a nice match with the Damien Rice smash, The Blower's Daughter -- the dark bluesy Devlins song, the World Outside, -- and of course, the can't miss samba swinging single, Caramel, from Suzanne Vega's 1996 album

I would grade it out as a B/B+ ... I do still feel however that it really is a YMMV, and that there are moments where even the most uncritical of us would say, geez, what real person would talk like that?