Close

I stumbled upon "Closer" via Clutch Magazine's article "Is It Really 'Just Sex'?" - though I think that question might lead one to believe the short is less complex than it is.

One night after a casual 'visit', Angela is all but ready to leave Derek's apartment. Derek, however, is determined no to let her go without a fight.

Programmer's Note: Tahir Jetter makes his first visit to the Sundance Film Festival with his dramatic short film "Close." With its truthful and intimate look at a turning point in a relationship, Jetter describes "Close." as "heavily autobiographical." In fact, at the New York premiere of the short, one particular audience member found the film's narrative more than coincidental, to which Jetter can only comment, "Nothing like making a movie about a person you've been romantically involved with and then having that person go and see it." A graduate of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts, Jetter is working on expanding "Close." into a feature film.

It's hard to figure out where exactly to begin. The gender dynamics are interesting - not only superficially because of the gender reversal - but because of the violence. It is interesting how Derek's violence is juxtaposed with his earlier behavior imitating a highly sexualized, stylized dancing (Beyonce's Single Ladies dance) that almost initially makes him seem effeminate, or at the very least at ease with his sexuality. His violence - rapelike - is harsh in comparison to our first few images of him. What's more interesting is reading the caption to the video in which the director shares that it's autobiographical. I wonder what he makes of his own violence, especially since he is able to so vividly depict it. 

It's funny because I went to follow him on twitter and he had posted something about Blue Valentine (another must-see). Closer is reminiscent of Blue Valentine (or perhaps the other way around) in that its eerily real, the silences palpable, the frustrations understandable.