Close My Eyes (1991)

Truly Dreadful Film

Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

Best movie ever!

Pretty good movie overall. First half was nothing special but it got better as it went along.

Rather than the movie itself, the content is really irritating to me. Not because of the incestuous relationship between the two,I can handle that, but because the fact that the sister is acting like a total b. It could be excused if it's love. But I guess it's not. She uses her brother. She uses her brother yet on the other hand she doesn't dare to let go of her millionaire husband. I guess that could be considered realistic? Then again, the husband must be a fantasy for he knows everything and he just closes his eyes. I'm not quite in mood of criticizing the movie or how it was made, but I guess since it gives me this personal feeling about loving and hating a character their acting must be superb. I feel sorry for the men and the woman is really ugly, in and out. I couldn't sympathize her, I guess.Alan Rickman is the only reason I started watching this movie but he couldn't keep me from loathing it sometimes. He is so mesmerizing in this movie, as usual, very fine acting.

In England, the siblings Natalie (Saskia Reeves) and Richard (Clive Owen) every now and then are together, and Natalie usually opens her heart to her brother. Years later, Natalie gets married to the wealthy Sinclair (Alan Rickman) and in the boredom of her marriage, she has a love affair with her brother. However, Richard becomes obsessed by his sister and addicted to have sex with her. Meanwhile, Sinclair distrusts Natalie and believes she has a lover."Close My Eyes" is a powerful drama about the obsessive incestuous love of two siblings. The unusual triangle of love is supported by the gorgeous Saskia Reeves that has a great performance in a bold role. The always excellent Alan Rickman is the stereotype of the British gentleman and Clive Owen in the beginning of his career successfully completes the triangle of lovers. This film was released in Brazil on VHS by Globo Vídeo distributor. My vote is six.Title (Brazil): "Três Amores Uma Paixão" ("Three Loves One Passion")

The film is really haunting and keeps you spellbound. While the film appears to portray sex scenes for nudity's sake, that's not really what is going on.Okay, okay, this is no Pulitzer Prize winner and Alan Rickman, Clive Owen, and Saskia Reeves can act better than they do in this movie. Butt, I think they each brought so much into the picture that other, less talented, actors would have failed to make this film work as well as it did.The dynamic between Natalie, her brother Richard, and her husband Sinclair is very strange. If you let yourself go and immerse yourself into the story, then you can enjoy it.The story is about very taboo subject matter, at the time when AIDS/HIV finally came into the public consciousness. But, I do think the screenplay by Stephen Poliakoff is very well written and the film strongly succeeds because he also directed it.I can compare the story to that of Jane Campion's "The Piano". It is risqué, bizarre, and seemingly shallow. It is also thoroughly compelling. The characters are otherworldly and mysterious, yet very commonplace. You can almost identify with them and by the end of the movie you will find yourself wanting to know more. It is as if you have been looking into a snow globe at a fantasy world come to life, just on the other side of the looking glass. Everything is madness for this trio...."Close My Eyes" is a journey into the "What if ? ". The most difficult question is, "Why ? ". Only Natalie and Richard can answer that question, or can they? If you are a fan of Clive Owen, Alan Rickman, and/or Saskia Reeves, check it out.

This film is an expanded and improved rewrite of Poliakoff's early play Hitting Town. I have always found Poliakoff's plays filmic; this reworking on film is more interesting than the play, although the starkness of the incest in Hitting Town was probably more shocking, and the 1970's UK audience was probably more susceptible to shock.Three great performances in this film - Saskia Reeves, Clive Owens and Alan Rickman. Poliakoff has a great knack of mixing the profound, the profane and the mundane. One telling scene in Richard's flat has Richard and Natalie agonising over their tryst, then making love, while in the background a rain-affected test match (cricket) fails to happen and then starts to happen again. Unforgettable symbolism - Bergman would have used it if only the Swedes played cricket.This film is well worth seeing.