I managed to never see this when it was released in 2004 and didn't know it existed until a good friend of mine insisted that I watch it.   Even though I promised for ages that I was going to do so it still took me about a month to get around to actually watching it.   While it seemed rather "ho hum" while I was watching it, the entire story is something that sticks with you and makes you think about its nuances for a long time after you have seen it and this is something that not many films can do to a person.   

While the movie might seem a bit hokey or even boring while you are watching it, it's totally worth the time and one of the major things I enjoy about the story is that even once it reaches its conclusion, you aren't really certain about the end.  A lot of the experience is left up to interpretation and perhaps you too will end up discussing what happened with friends the same way that I did with mine.

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This is a love story of sorts and that is a big part of the reason why it took me so long to get around to watching it.  Love stories and rom-coms are not my favorite kind of movies so I left it alone for a long time.  

The story starts in a really dumb kind of way where Jude Law meets Natalie Portman for the very first time after making eye-contact from across the street and then she gets hit by a car.  He ends up escorting her to the hospital and they hit it off and end up getting involved in a relationship with one another.   

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Portman's "Alice" character is a free-spirited wanderlust type of person whereas Jude Law's "Dan" is pretty straight-laced and serious.  He is actually quite boring and "normal" to a degree and this is something that i have encountered in my own life.  When people at opposite ends of the personality spectrum end up getting involved with one another, it has been my experience that while it is exciting at first, it almost never ends up working out.  

Alice is really into Dan and is very devoted to him.  It might be because of this guaranteed love that he starts to have wandering eyes and on a chance encounter he ends up taking a liking to Julia Robert's "Anna."  

Jude feels as though he has the confidence or ability to woo both of them and does so for a time.  This is also something that I have experienced in my own life and once again, it never works out yet so many people pursue it.  

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Clive Owen gets introduced into the mix in another rather dumb coincidental encounter and he represents a more devoted and stable individual as far as relationships are concerned.  Once he enters the picture, it puts Dan into a position where he has to choose.   Unwilling to do so, he waits until it is too late and then ends up screwing up all of the relationships.  

I'm not going to spoil how this movie ends because I can't do it.  There is no definitive ending and we the audience are left to our own devices about what the actual ending is.   For some this might seem annoying and if every movie was like this, I would hate it also.  Since it is a rarity in reality, this vague ending is actually quite refreshing.

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In one surprising scene, Portman gets damn near naked and acts in an extremely sexual way and this was a break from what I consider her normal acting style to be.  I was really impressed with her in particular in this movie because her character is a lot more emotional than the others and she does an amazing job with the role.  This ended up getting Portman nominated for an Oscar but unfortunately she didn't win.  

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BdmOjfGTUzQ

<h3> Should I watch it? </h3>

This is one of the best movies I have seen in quite some time.  Don't let the threat of it being a sappy love story turn you off because this film is so much more than that.  This is a tragedy of sorts and according to some, it is actually an adaptation of a Mozart opera and the movie is based on a play.  While not officially inspired by the opera, it is generally agreed that it draws from it.  I've not seen it or heard of it so I don't really have an opinion about that aspect of it.   

I feel as though anyone who has experienced the complications of a failed relationship will appreciate this film even though it is a bit far fetched in many ways.   If you can see past that this movie will give you a wide range of emotions including feeling a sense of shame or even hatred towards every single one of the major characters at one point in the film or another.   There is no defined "good guy" or "bad guy" in this movie, it is just a representation of how the way that we handle relationships can end up self-destructing even though our intentions are actually good to begin with.   

I really think that most people who watch this are going to walk away being glad that they did so.  I know that I am.  

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