Maybe it was the scene-to-scene time travel, or perhaps it was seeing Natalie Portman portray a stripper – I’m not positive what had me more off-balance as I sat through the 98 minutes of Mike Nichol’s adaptation of Patrick Marber’s internationally-acclaimed play, Closer. In it, four characters – two couples – explore questions about love, sexuality, and fidelity in excruciating detail.

A chance meeting between Anna (Julia Roberts) and Dan (Jude Law) when she photographs him for the cover of his book sends the lives of the duo, as well as their lovers, Alice (Portman) and Larry (Clive Owen), into a series of alternately frustrating and heartbreaking situations. The problem, however, lies in the fact that the chemistry between Roberts and Law just isn’t as strong as it is in the Roberts/Owen and Law/Portman couplings, which, at times, impacts how believable the resulting storyline is.

There isn’t much nudity in this film, but the characters speak graphically about sex – all kinds of sex – sometimes in dialogue that’s a bit too stilted to be believable. In places, it’s as if the actors are thinking, “My mother may be watching this” as they’re delivering their lines. However, viewers are forced to hang on every word to find clues about how much time has passed and exactly what is going on in the story.

It’s hard to find a hero or heroine to champion among these characters, because they're all so deeply flawed and self-absorbed. Although they claim to be searching for love, each character is broken in some way and looking for a companion who will (co-dependently) hold the pieces together. If they didn’t look so much like movie stars, they might be people that we know – and try to avoid -- in real life.

If it seems as if I didn’t like this film, that may be accurate, but it’s not a film where “like” or “dislike” is really relevant. The work, overall, is extremely well done and thought-provoking, in spite of the occasional dialogue glitches. Nichols has a brilliant gift for making the details perfect, such as using background sounds – tinkling glasses, children’s laughter from outside a window – that makes the scenes surprisingly real. Clive Owen’s performance is riveting and is, alone, worth the price of admission. And just when we think we’ve got Portman’s character figured out, we find some satisfying twists that give the character more depth.

If you go, definitely bring a friend or two, as you’ll have much to debate when the film is over. And, please, grown-ups only. The resulting discussions are probably not those you wish to have with the younger set.