MovieChat Forums > Closer (2004) Discussion > How well, and to which character do you ...

How well, and to which character do you relate to from this movie?

posted 10 years ago by Gracelovesmovies
36 replies | jump to latest

I love this movie. It communicates the complexities of relationships and emotions so well, I could relate to all the characters but especially to Jane.

When she says "I'm supposed to leave you", we realise that was her intention all along; to love and leave him. So she decided to take back control and slip away when she sent him to make tea. She didn't expect to fall in love, but she did want a new start and to be good. She gave Dan a fake name because she wanted to be pure, like Alice Ayres, not Jane Jones the stripper. Likewise, people like me can't help burning bridges to seek a new life every now and then and come away feeling disillusioned.

Not only that, she thought she was the whore and the heart breaker, not goody two shoes Dan (or respected photographer Anna). I can relate to this because I felt like I was the tainted one (not a whore in anywhere but my mind, mind you), the dark one, and like Dan, my boyfriend was the good mommy's boy but he was the one who cheated. And yet like Larry, I couldn't stop prying about it all, going through messages and Facebook posts to satisfy my own sick curiosity, interrogating him about the details and why he did it, what he felt about her and so on.

Finally, I lived those exact moments when Jane said "I don't love you any more" and "I could have loved you forever". The first is a sudden moment when the heart feels like it died and you suddenly feel nothing more for the relationship. The second is the absolute blame and hurt you throw at your partner for making you lose your innocence, tarnishing the relationship and throwing away a good thing.

TLDR: I'm complicated, Jane is complicated, we have baggage, like to find new starts, and think (maybe too) badly of ourselves.

Who was the character you related to and why? Also would love to hear any theories about the significance of the obituaries and Jane's hair or anything else I missed.

P.S: Love Clive Owens in this movie, the chatroom scene is priceless. Also love the Fall Out Boy and Panic! At the Disco songs and videos based on the film (Lying is the Most Fun..., Thks For the Mmrs, I Write Sins Not Tragedies, But It's Better If You Do)

[–] PenelopeTree 9 years ago

The line I remember most is Jane's- said to Dan. "Why isn't love enough?."

Hello Darling 😘

[–] Flora_Poste 8 years ago

The line I remember most is Jane's- said to Dan. "Why isn't love enough?."

+1. For me, it was painful how much I identified with Jane. I never cheated, never wavered in my love, and for half my lifetime I was utterly devoted to the man I loved, but he decided to cheat on me and discard me.

When Dan said, "This is going to hurt," I don't think he knew how much it would devastate Jane to learn that he'd fallen in love with somebody else.

I've been Jane when she asked the question, "How? How does it work? How do you do this to someone?" How do you do that to the person who loves you more than anything?

I still don't know the answer.

Why isn't love enough?

[–] SmartBlonde0 8 years ago

People want what they can't have, and once they have someone, they become less exciting. It's a sad, sociological and biological truth. I wish it wasn't so. :/

[–] wojiaogaoboo 8 years ago

most touched line for me may be the same scene, Jane to Dan "No one will ever love you as much as I do", heartbroken at that moment.

[–] tkirkegaard 9 years ago

Definitely Larry. Weak, intelligent, and vindictive - just like me. I would probably have done all the same, although I wish I would have been stronger and not taken back Anna.

[–] FrederickWit 9 years ago

I feel very embarrassed to say that when I was younger I actually truly identified with Dan the most... however, now I feel I am more like Larry. From the women, I probably identify more with Jane... but I think Anna's character was very passive and wasn't really developed that much in the film.

Dan literally fell in love with both women right after seeing them for the first time, it was absolutely superficial and I don't see myself doing that. He also had some sociopath tendencies, like having no guilt and being very selfish. I guess that when I was a teenager, I didn't really notice how immature this character was. Larry on the other hand was the opposite, he acted like a caveman superficially, but was actually caring and good-spirited deep inside.

Anna is probably the most interesting character Julia Roberts has ever portrayed, but she has so many flaws. I hated how she was just there to be taken by men, she truly had no saying in anything, she was just chased around until she gave up each time. Jane was a very neutral and relatable character, I think everyone can see themselves in her. By the way, she deserved the Oscar much more for this character than for Black Swan!

[–] MydnightRose 9 years ago

Alice/Jane was the only one I liked though I am nothing like her.

 Superman & Wonder Woman

[–] bazt-93964 9 years ago

I think youre reading too much into it. Pretentious.

[–] samixsaysxhi 9 years ago

Jane.

you are not a beautiful and unique snowflake.

[–] missscoobyca 8 years ago

I can happily say I relate to none of these emotionally bankrupt, pretentious, narcissistic, vile individuals! I did not like this movie at all.

[–] Haasdas 8 years ago

I feel I've experienced numerous characteristics of all the characters portrayed at some point of my life. I think that's what makes "Closer" so raw and easy to identify with.