In London, the American new arrival and former striper Alice Ayres (Natalie Portman) meets the mediocre obituary journalist Daniel (Jude Law) and they move together. Dan writes a book, inspired in the life of Alice, and while photographing for the release of the book, he meets the American photographer Anna (Julia Roberts). Dan "introduces" the dermatologist Larry (Clive Owen) to Anna, and they get married. However, Dan and Anna have a passionate affair, complicating the relationship of the couples.

"Closer" is a magnificent romance, but recommended for adults. The dramatic story is an intriguing tale of relationship, with love, passion, betrayal, forgiveness, insecureness, infidelity, elements that shall be handled very carefully by the director and screenplay writer; otherwise it might have become a boring or corny soap-opera. In this regard, the screenplay of Patrick Marber, and the direction of Mike Nichols, using ellipsis and flashbacks to present the events, sometimes years or months later, is spectacular, working perfectly in the film. This is the first time that Clive Owen proves (at least for me) that he is a good actor, with an awesome performance. Natalie Portman is also fantastic and they really deserved the nominations they received in many awards, including the Oscar. Natalie Portman is also very beautiful and shows an astonishing body. Julie Robert, still a very pretty woman, and Jude Law, complete the outstanding cast of this great movie. I liked a lot the surprising revelation disclosed in the end of the story. My vote is nine.

Title (Brazil): "Closer – Perto Demais" ("Closer – Too Close")

Dan (Jude Law),an obituary writer, falls for stripper Alice (Natalie Portman) who is new in London. Later Dan writes a book about Alice, and meets photographer Anna (Julia Roberts). Alice knows she's losing Dan. Dan tricks dermatologist Larry (Clive Owen) on an internet chat, and Larry meets Anna. Larry marries Anna but the wander eye strikes again.

Director Mike Nichols is going minimalist with Patrick Marber's play. This is a movie with four incredible performances. Clive Owen is brutal. Natalie Portman is hurt. Jude Law is childish. Julia Roberts is wonderful. They are doing some of their best work here. Don't come for a rom-com. This is emotionally vicious, damaged, pathetic human relationships.

I like some romantic comedies like the Holiday and Love Actually, but I was disappointed in Closer. It wasn't terrible, but it was very disappointing. It does benefit from a very good acting ensemble. Julia Roberts, Natalie Portman, Jude Law and Clive Owen all give very creditable performances, Owen the standout of the four. They are helped by an above average script, that is surprisingly intelligent. The cinematography is beautiful, fluid and sensitive.

However, there were a number of things that made Closer disappointing for me. The biggest problem was the pace; the film is at approximation just under two hours, however the film takes a long time to get going, and the pace is very uneven, sadly it never recovers. The direction from Mike Nicolls is very sluggish, and lacked credibility. I will admit I liked the premise of Closer, but when I got round to seeing the film, its structure is disappointingly episodic and even underdeveloped. My next complaint is more of a semi-complaint. I really liked the overall music, but I disliked the song at the beginning. I think that was mainly to do with the singing voice of the vocalist, I found it very flat for my musical ears.

All in all, Closer isn't a bad movie. Unfortunately, despite the fine acting ensemble, there were a number of things that didn't work for me. 6/10 Bethany Cox