Closer (2004)
If you believe in love at first sight, you never stop looking.
The relationships of two couples become complicated and deceitful when the man from one couple meets the woman of the other.
| Type | Movie |
|---|---|
| Released | 3 December 2004 |
| Genre | Drama, Romance |
| Director | Mike Nichols |
| Starring | Jude Law, Natalie Portman and Julia Roberts |
| Runtime | 104 min |
| Rated | R |
| Scores | Rotten Tomatoes (average) 6.6/10 · Rotten Tomatoes 67% · Metacritic 65/100 · TMDB users 6.8/10 |
Where to watch Closer
Closer is streaming on Netflix ($19.99 a month) in the US. If that is the only reason to subscribe, one month of Netflix is $19.99 at list price.
We check availability daily. Page last updated 9 November 2026. Prices are standard monthly plans and change often, so check with the service before you sign up.
Rent or buy
You can rent Closer on Apple TV, Prime Video, Google Play, YouTube, Fandango at Home and Spectrum On Demand. It is also for sale on Apple TV, Prime Video, Google Play, YouTube and Fandango at Home.
Where to watch Closer in 20 other countries
| Country | Streaming on (price a month) |
|---|---|
| Albania | In Albania, Closer is available on Max. |
| Australia | In Australia, Closer is available on Paramount+ and Foxtel. |
| Bosnia & Herzegovina | In Bosnia & Herzegovina, Closer is available on Max. |
| Bulgaria | In Bulgaria, Closer is available on Max. |
| Croatia | In Croatia, Closer is available on Max. |
| Czechia | In Czechia, Closer is available on Max. |
| Denmark | In Denmark, Closer is available on Netflix for 109 kr DKK a month. |
| Hungary | In Hungary, Closer is available on Max. |
| Japan | In Japan, Closer is available on U-NEXT for ¥2189 JPY a month. |
| Moldova | In Moldova, Closer is available on Max. |
| Montenegro | In Montenegro, Closer is available on Max. |
| Netherlands | In the Netherlands, Closer is available on Max for €11.99 a month. |
| North Macedonia | In North Macedonia, Closer is available on Max. |
| Poland | In Poland, Closer is available on Max for 39.99 zł a month. |
| Portugal | In Portugal, Closer is available on Filmin. |
| Romania | In Romania, Closer is available on Max. |
| Serbia | In Serbia, Closer is available on Max. |
| Slovakia | In Slovakia, Closer is available on Max. |
| Slovenia | In Slovenia, Closer is available on Max. |
| South Korea | In South Korea, Closer is available on Wavve for ₩10900 a month. |
Subscription, free and ad-supported services we track; prices where Binge Boss has a price list for the country. "About" marks a price the service bills in another currency, converted at the day's rate. All countries as data.
What kind of watch this is
Closer is a 2004 drama where a chance meeting between two people unravels the marriages of both. Directed by Mike Nichols, it runs 104 minutes. The cast includes Jude Law, Natalie Portman, and Julia Roberts, who navigate a web of deceit. It is not a film about passion, but about the specific, hollow feeling of being seen by someone who knows exactly what you are doing. The stakes are low, the emotions are high, and the ending feels less like a resolution and more like a long exhale.
What the critics said
The numbers sit in the middle. Rotten Tomatoes lists a 67% approval score based on 207 reviews, while Metacritic assigns a 65 Metascore from 42 reviews. That is "generally favorable" territory, though the consensus notes the stage-to-screen transition was bumpy. Roger Ebert appreciated the articulate dialogue, calling it refreshing in a time when literate speech has been devalued. Not everyone was charmed. Christopher Orr called the film flamboyantly bad, an irretrievably silly potty-mouthed fantasy. It is a movie that believes its own noise.
What came next for the cast
Jude Law moved from Gattaca to Captain Marvel, a jump that defies genre logic. Natalie Portman went from Léon to Avengers: Endgame, trading intimate drama for cosmic scale. Julia Roberts kept her footing, moving from Pretty Woman to Leave the World Behind. The credits list these as separate paths, not a single cause. The film did not steer their careers; it simply marked a point on the map before they drove off in different directions.
If you liked this
TMDB's recommendations for people who watched Closer.
Read more: Nightmare Alley · Lioness · A Knight of the Seven Kingdoms
Sources
- Closer on TMDB — synopsis, cast, ratings and recommendations
- Wikidata Q212098 — review scores, box office and awards (CC0)
- “Closer (film)” on Wikipedia, by its contributors (history) — reception, audience figures and legacy, summarised and adapted here under CC BY-SA 4.0
- Where to watch and prices: Binge Boss, from TMDB watch-provider data (powered by JustWatch) and our own provider list
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