Directed by Tom Tykwer (2002’s Heaven), the film boasts decent performances and some picturesque destinations, but it is undone by a frustratingly shallow storyline.

Penned by screenwriter Eric Singer, the film introduces us to Louis Salinger (Clive Owen), an Interpol agent, who, along with his partner, Eleanor Whitman (Naomi Watts) is investigating the shady dealings of a powerful international bank, which uses its power and influence to fund war and terrorism.

In their work to bring down the bank’s insiders, Salinger and Whitman (an assistant district attorney in New York) are consistently hampered by local lawmen. While tracking assassins, illegal arms deals and other dangerous stuff, Salinger discovers not only how wide the bank’s nefarious influence spreads, but how loosely he will have to act within legal boundaries if he’s to succeed in his quest.

Owen does his best to elevate the film into engrossing espionage territory but it his hard-edged focus and steely moral clarity aren’t enough. Watts, who has seemingly mastered the art of portraying ‘the damsel in distress’, is incredibly underutilized here.

There are occasional dashes of style and some appealing camera shots that almost make the movie halfway worthwhile. The film’s centerpiece, and only highlight, is an incredible shoot-out in the Guggenheim Museum with bullets, flying plaster and shattering installations. That’s about the only reason to see this hugely disappointing movie.

Submitted by Karen G., Pembroke Pines, FL.

Closer isn’t the kind of film just any random audience would enjoy. It features complex sexual and relationship themes that might leave some viewers cold. The dialogue is often lacerating, as lovers wield swords like spears, striking out to get what they desire. At the same time, the story vibrates with eroticism, bruising laughter and dynamite performances from four attractive and talented actors doing decidedly unattractive things.

Closer questions the nature of relationships and fidelity, as it follows the tangled web created by Dan (Jude Law), Alice (Natalie Portman), Anna (Julia Roberts) and Larry (Clive Owen).

Dan is a British writer of obituaries, and Alice, a young American stripper, meet in the film’s opening scene when a London cab runs her down. Cut to a year later: Dan and Alice are now a couple, but he is suddenly smitten with Anna, a beautiful American photographer. In an ironic twist of fate, Anna meets Larry, a British doctor, and they are soon a couple despite Dan’s continuing obsession. But the entanglements don’t end there, and ultimately, someone is sure to get hurt.

The four players do justice to a script that is humorous, raw and disarmingly honest about adult relationships. Roberts and Law have their moments, but the film truly belongs to Portman and Owen, whose turns are nothing short of astounding. Portman, with her big eager eyes and knowing, seductive smile, lifts the movie to another level, while Owen’s hyper-masculinity arrests.

Closer is an entertaining and thought provoking gem that ultimately poses the question: “How well do you really know the one you love?”

By Tyrone R., Miami, FL.