Wednesday, December 5, 2007

When the Book is Golden and the Screen is Silver


Patrick Marber's play "Closer" is brought to life in Mike Nicholls' 2004 film by the same title. The realities of the raw play are actualized adequately in the filmic text and I find the Winter season quite appropriate for conducting a close reading of both the literary and filmic texts.

Mike Nicholls, unlike many other filmmakers, knows one basic thing about cinematography, i.e., how to translate the urban experience onto the screen. Whether one is a European 'product' experiencing the urban space of London or a New Yorker enjoying a stroll on Central Park, one is bound to find the film authentic.

Why visit or re-visit Closer? It's first and foremost an homage to the city itself. Ah, and the first 3 minutes of the film feature Damian Rice's brilliant 'Blower's Daughter' and the elusive [Foucaultian] gaze.



graphs per imdb

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

favorite line is when Clive's character says:
'because I'm a caveman.'

Unknown said...

'it's the only way to leave, isn't it?' it makes sense to me now why all those couples had a hard time watching it with us as it raises some core issues for couples.