“Don’t say ‘you’re too good for me.’ I am, but don’t say it.”
Within the exquisite career of director Mike Nichols is a trilogy of intense relationship dramas, two of which originated on the stage. It starts with his first feature, 1966’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?. In 1971 he made the incendiary Carnal Knowledge, and he finished it off with Closer in 2004. All films about bitter and angry people sabotaging their happiness because they can’t get past their selfishness. This 3rd film is based on the play by Patrick Marber and it’s the least known of the trilogy. It is also the best.
“Have you ever seen a human heart? It looks like a fist wrapped in blood!”
With all three films, the writing, performances and direction are at the highest levels. They are three of the most technically stylish films centered on lengthy conversations you will ever see. While all three films wallow in misery and hostility, Closer is the only one where it doesn’t consume them. I can connect to this quartet of characters and their lives. I’ve been both men at some point in my life, and I’ve dated both women. Sadly, I didn’t have such wonderful things to say in the moment. Few of us will ever have such wonderful words travel from our minds to our mouths.
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