Closer

In this screen adaptation of the acclaimed play about the romantic interactions and intersections of four people in modern day London, Mike Nichols explores the new fault lines of the battle of the sexes. Dan is an aspiring author who makes a living writing obituaries. He meets Alice, an American stripper trying to make her way in London. She inspires him to write his first book, but then he meets Anna, the photographer who is to take his picture for the book's jacket cover. The two flirt, but before anything happens, Anna meets Larry, a cynical dermatologist. Nichols, who began his career with "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" and "Carnal Knowledge," handles the themes of loyalty and betrayal, truth and lies, male and female, with characteristic grace.