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About Oregon daily emerald. (Eugene, Or.) 1920-2012 | View Entire Issue (April 7, 2005)
Sponsored by Ihe 1JO Campus Knvironinental Issues t'ommillei The quickest way to find a parking spot. Ride for free with your UO ID! Take the bus. Ride a bike. Carpool. Save our resources by conserving energy. Emerald already low marked prices City Fine Books We buy back books for top prices 1044 Willamette St. • 684-9057 • Hours: 9-7 pm Mon-Sat flower pots <1 vases • candle holders $ martini glasses Spend an afternoon with us & you will have a piece you are proud to show your friends. www.brush-fire.com g 954 Pearl St. | 485-7161 | 10-9M-Sat. | 10-8 Sun. MCDONALDTHEATRE i™ MOUNTAIN FILM FESTIVAL ADVANCE TICKETS AT ICKETSWEST AND Oft EU8ENE I uc APRIL ALL AGES 7 PM DOORS SEATING MON OC APRIL AO 1 -1 W LI ®gj|M ALL AGES 7 PM DOORS LIMITED SEATING , p %. ^ « Event info and FREE TICKETS at www.mcdonaldtheatre.com General Admission WILL CALL Tickets Novtf ONLINE from mcdonaldtheatre.com All Concert Tickets Available at 7"TcketsWest outlets (800) 992-T1XX Service charges may apply ■ DVD review DVD release brings viewers (Closery to sharp script, deceitful characters Don't close the door on this film, despite its struggle with intimacy BY JOSH LINTEREUR PULSE REPORTER During fall, the film "Closer" quietly passed through theaters, meeting mixed reviews and smaii audiences. But, with Oscar-nominated perform ances and powerful writing, this mostly overlooked film awaits a sec ond chance with audiences after its DVD release last week. The sharply written script adapted by Patrick Marberfrom his play tells the story of four characters who begin as strangers and fall in and out of love as they heedlessly betray one anoth er's trust. An unabashed downer of a film, it succeeds for its complicated meditation on intimacy and betrayal. Natalie Portman's character, Alice, opens the movie with the line, "hey stranger," which ironically cues up an appropriate reminder of how she's a completely different actress when she's not in a galaxy far, far away trading dialogue with Jedis and their computer-animated sidekicks. She received an Oscar nomination for best supporting actress and won a Golden Globe for her performance as a stripper who falls in love with Dan (Jude Law), an obituaries writer. Portman plays her part with just enough fragility and mysteriousness. Her character's monologue about the sadness behind the subjects in a pho tography exhibit is the high point of the film. But her inescapable inno cence fails to dissipate when she's swinging from a stripper's pole, which hurts the performance. Law perfectly portrays the sly and emotionally selfish Dan, who is not .INI.... Courtesy From left to right: Clive Owen, Natalie Portman, Julia Roberts and Jude Law star in Mike Nichols' 2004 dark romance, "Closer." entirely devoid of compassion, as op posed to the caveman-like Larry (Clive Owen). Like Portman, Owen received an Oscar nomination for his supporting role, and won a Golden Globe. His brutish snarl and calculating eyes con vey his animalistic inner-workings. Owen is careful notto overcook his performance of the bestial Larry, which bestows him with humanistic depth, ratherthan reducing him to a pre dictable cinematic bad seed. This makes it even more devastating when his character delivers an emotional stomach punch to a repentant Dan to ward the end of the film. Julia Roberts rounds out the film's collection of standout performances as Anna, a divorced photographer. She handles the role with appropri ately understated melancholy and weariness that is always refreshing from an under-challenged megastar. The film is masterfully directed by Mike Nichols, who, fresh on the heels of his celebrated 2003 directorial ef fort, "Angels in America," again adds cinematic style to a stage adaptation. The film liberally jumps through time with minimal cues, which signifies a level of respectforthe audience rarely seen in modern film, art house or not. He is not afraid to carefully draw out a scene involving an online sex chat between Dan and Larry that is humorously setto classical music. While the filmmaking stands out, the thematic content becomes bur densome for its disheartening turn of events, which reveal the truth of each character's struggle with intimacy. The sudden emotional detachment that underlies each character's re peated and almost casual infidelities also creates a parallel effect, driving an emotional distance between the audience and the film. The emotional power of the film lessens underthe weight of dysfunctional characters that are almost unbearable in their ability to cause so much pain. The artistry and complicated themes at work in "Closer" make it a natural for some superb extras, such as a commentary from Nichols or Marber, but sadly the paltry DVD only includes a music video and previews forotherfilms. joshlintereur@dailyemerald.com 021917 Eric Englund Scholarship $2,000 to enable a University of Oregon graduate to pursue graduate studies at the U of O or elsewhere in American literature or history or a related subject. Apply to the English Department by May 2. GiGiamBrciHianiinnHvamiiianiira a d a m a n □ n h □ m Find fun stuff in the ODE Classifieds: Comics, your daily horoscope, and, of course, the crossword. 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