Word: marber
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...Something similar happens at the start of "Closer," the funny, hurtful, splendidly acted new film written by Patrick Marber and directed by Mike Nichols. The movie's Dan (Jude Law) has better luck than my friend Steve; fates conspire to put a beautiful stranger in his arms on a London street. He's been stalking, or just appreciatively lurking after, young Alice (Natalie Portman), who's clearly aware of her seductive appeal. Suddenly, she gets hit by a vehicle. Solicitous Dan leaps into action and Galahads her into a cab. (Man, the indefatigable pursuer!) They've just...
...this is in Marber's 1997 play, which the film follows closely - nearly as faithfully as Nichols attended to "Virginia Woolf" (when, famously, only 18 words were added to the play script, and a few words taken out). "Mike said if I wanted to direct a film of it he would happily produce it," Marber told Tyrangiel. "Or if I didn't want to direct it, he would. He just wanted to be involved in the material." Then the two went over the play, scene by scene. "Mike and I discussed it, but it was more that we read...
...Even the creators can't agree. Marber, who should know, says, "I always maintain, and still maintain, that it's a love story, because everything that happens in the piece is driven by love. Of course it's also about competition and sex and loneliness and all these other things. But it's not just about war. It's about love...
...also agree with Marber: the movie's achievement is that "it manages to be realistic and dreamlike simultaneously. We wanted that semi-hallucinogenic atmosphere without seeming fantastic. We wanted it to feel like being in love, which is hermetic. It just keeps out the rest of the world." The films draws viewers into this world, allows them to fall in love with it, even as it sets them at a distance from the scurvier action of the characters. Are they beneath you? No: they're you, man. (And woman.) As we watch, the screen turns from a window...
...having sex and the problems that can come with that. And it's got very well-written dialogue. It's such a treat to be able to have such language at your disposal. Dialogue used to be much more important in movies, and we've lost that." Thanks to Marber's invigorating wit, "Closer" restores the need to pay attention to what's said on screen. It's been some time at the movies since we've used those delicate organs, our ears, for processing much more than punch lines and gunfire...