(:)(:)(:)(:) for Closer

At first snichols was a little disappointed that the movie Closer wasn’t, as snichols had hoped, pronounced “clozer” and actually about John Kerry’s miraculous win of the Presidency. Instead, it’s “closer” and about all kinds of cozy closeness between 4 dear people.

Ok, really, it’s a brilliant Mike Nichols film (is there any other kind?). Although Jude Law and Natalie Portman are excellent, Clive Owens completely steals the film with his flawless, vulnerable, sexy, despicable performance. Julia Roberts is her usual blah underwhelming self except for one flash of truth which Owens teases out of her in an unforgettable scene between them.

Amazingly and painfully accurate dialogue–capturing perfectly the male obsession with the actual sex had during infidelity: who, when, where, what positions, rather than the seemingly more important question of why.

Critics other than snichols have called it a cold film without love or likeable characters. snichols isn’t sure what it says about her, but she didn’t find it that way. She thought everyone was sympathetic, and that it was as much about love as it was about sex.

But the best was the conversation overheard after the film in the bathroom, between 4 very young women (17? 18? who can tell anymore)

Girl1: Oh. My. God.

Girl2: I know.

Girl3: I so know.

Girl4: Dude. When you said it was a Jude Law and Julia Roberts film I had no idea it would be like this.

Girl2: Don’t look at me! I didn’t know. She knew (pointing at Girl3).

Girl3: I did not know.

Girl1: All I know is that people talked about sex all the time and they said nasty, dirty things that I have never heard anyone talk about before and I never want to hear again.

Girl 2: I know.

Girl 3&4: I so know.