Close

Name: Close
Genre: Drama
Released: January 27, 2023
Duration: 105 min
Rating: 81
Cast: Ahlaam Teghadouini, Eden Dambrine, Elodie Barthels, Émilie Dequenne, Gustav De Waele

2023

METASCORE

Universal acclaim based on 34 Critic Reviews

See All

USER SCORE

Generally favorable reviews based on 28 Ratings

See All

7.8

VOTE NOW

0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

7.8	Your Score
7.8	User Score Generally favorable reviews based on 28 Ratings

Would you like to write a review?

There is a 75 character minimum for reviews. If your review contains spoilers, please check the Spoiler box. Please do not use ALL CAPS. There is no linking or other HTML allowed. Your review may be edited for content. 0/5000

Check box if your review contains spoilers

Play Sound

Please enter your birth date to watch this video:

You are not allowed to view this material at this time.

Close (US Trailer 1)

Now Playing: Close (US Trailer 1)

Movie Details & Credits

A24 | Release Date: January 27, 2023 | PG-13

Starring: Ahlaam Teghadouini, Eden Dambrine, Elodie Barthels, Émilie Dequenne, Gustav De Waele, Hélène Theunissen, Herman van Slambrouck, Igor van Dessel, Kevin Janssens, Léa Drucker, Léon Bataille, Marc Weiss, Robin Keyaert, Serine Ayari

Movie Facts:

Winner of the Grand Prix (2nd place prize) at the 2022 Cannes Film Festival.

Summary: The intense friendship between two thirteen-year old boys, Léo and Rémi, suddenly gets disrupted. Struggling to understand what has happened, Léo approaches Sophie, Rémi's mother.

Director: Lukas Dhont

Genre(s): Drama

Rating: PG-13

Runtime: 105 min

See All Details and Credits

Watch Now

Stream On

Metascore

Positive:

Mixed:

Negative:

Critic Reviews

100

Tara Brady

Feb 18, 2023

The powerful current Palme d’Or favourite features terrific performances from youthful leads Eden Dambrine and Gustav De Waele, claustrophobic cinematography from Frank van den Eeden, weepie-worthy orchestrations from Valentin Hadjadj, and meaningful musings on how we hide behind small-talk, and internalise pain and gender norms. Read full review

100

John Bleasdale

Jun 10, 2022

Dhont’s second film is a touching and empathetic treatment of male friendship, superbly acted and beautifully filmed. Read full review

Manuel Betancourt

Jan 25, 2023

Close is exquisite, tender, and bruising in equal measure, managing to feel both like an open wound and a balm. Read full review

Anthony Lane

Jan 23, 2023

What Dhont understands, in short, is how kinetic the rites of passage are—how growing pains are expressed not in words, however therapeutic, but in rushes of activity. Read full review

Hannah Strong

Mar 10, 2023

For me, Close gets to the heart of something I know all too well: bone-deep loneliness, grief, sadness and desperation that is hard to articulate, much less as a young child. To show this so masterfully, and without an ounce of judgement, make Close a small wonder. Read full review

Jenny Nulf

Feb 2, 2023

Belgian filmmaker Lukas Dhont’s latest film Close is a devastatingly heavy watch, a delicately filmed tragedy that takes hold of your emotions and never lets go for the duration of its run time. Read full review

Peter Debruge

May 27, 2022

I am convinced that Dhont has a masterpiece in him. But there’s an immaturity to his movies that he must first overcome. He’s already so close Read full review

SEE ALL 34 REVIEWS

Write a Review

User Reviews

Daivy

Jun 4, 2023

Grâce à sa formidable maîtrise des silences et des regards, la beauté de ses cadrages et la lumière de ses jeunes interprètes novices, Eden Dambrine et Gustav de Waele, Close est d'abord et avant tout un immense mélodrame qui sert le cœur et fait rejaillir, par petites touches, ces instantsGrâce à sa formidable maîtrise des silences et des regards, la beauté de ses cadrages et la lumière de ses jeunes interprètes novices, Eden Dambrine et Gustav de Waele, Close est d'abord et avant tout un immense mélodrame qui sert le cœur et fait rejaillir, par petites touches, ces instants cruciaux qui ont façonné l’existence de chacun d’entre nous. Juste magique… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

SlowEddie

Jan 30, 2023

Fun, gritty indie revenge/war flick. Great acting and some really fun scenes. Also injects a good dose of comedy to balance out the dark dramatic scenes. Never heard of this director or some of the actors but I’d like to see what they do in future projects. I like to see directors who excelFun, gritty indie revenge/war flick. Great acting and some really fun scenes. Also injects a good dose of comedy to balance out the dark dramatic scenes. Never heard of this director or some of the actors but I’d like to see what they do in future projects. I like to see directors who excel in storytelling on a low budget.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

soberlord

Jan 29, 2023

No, that's not what the film is about. I myself thought Lukas Dhont would veer into this theme (and I wouldn't have been upset by it), given his previous work, his desire to explore self-identity, and the poster and title, but it turned out otherwise, though still in the direction of selfNo, that's not what the film is about. I myself thought Lukas Dhont would veer into this theme (and I wouldn't have been upset by it), given his previous work, his desire to explore self-identity, and the poster and title, but it turned out otherwise, though still in the direction of self reflection. It is a beautiful film about the value of friendship, the importance of understanding and showing your emotions, about betrayal and pain, which you will definitely feel while watching it.
A beautiful, very tactile, sensual and sincerely lived experience with a keenly relevant message.
The West still raises in movies the problem of prejudice against boys, how they "should" behave, what to love, how to be friends and (not) express feelings. Imagine what happens in other countries, where the social culture is more closed and much more categorical in its judgments?

I, unfortunately, know it firsthand: to be different = to be a target, and not only for others, but also for yourself. At best, you will spend your whole life cleaning up childhood traumas. At worst... Check out "Close."… Expand

1 of 3 users found this helpful12

bertobellamy

Mar 7, 2023

If 'The Banshess of Inisherin' showed us how a friendship between two men breaks down due to an internal conflict, 'Close' brings us closer to the fallout when pressures come from outside. Writer/director Lukas Dhont shows how a little "accepted" kind of masculinity plunges two adolescentsIf 'The Banshess of Inisherin' showed us how a friendship between two men breaks down due to an internal conflict, 'Close' brings us closer to the fallout when pressures come from outside. Writer/director Lukas Dhont shows how a little "accepted" kind of masculinity plunges two adolescents barely developing their identity into an existential predicament. Guiding magnificent young performances (and displaying a visual style reminiscent of the Dardenne brothers), Dhont immerses us into an environment full of affection and honesty but also of unfulfilled social expectations, especially in one as complex as the adolescent one. And that is only the first part because, in the second, we witness the devasting process of internalizing guilt. 'Close' is a tragic yet beautiful exploration of friendship, grief, and, most important, the importance of showing our feelings.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

JLuis_001

Apr 28, 2023

A cruel example of how society in the worst of its ignorance can corrupt and taint something as pure and innocent as a friendship just because apparently showing such a deep bond with another person, and in this terrible case a person of the same sex, makes you an object of ridicule,A cruel example of how society in the worst of its ignorance can corrupt and taint something as pure and innocent as a friendship just because apparently showing such a deep bond with another person, and in this terrible case a person of the same sex, makes you an object of ridicule, destroying lives along the way.

The terrible event that occurs in the middle of the movie is crucial to its functioning, though Close's problems are that its emotional poignancy relies on a relationship that is too embellished to feel real.

The rift seems sincere, but it struggles for the feelings to become truly authentic. It may even lack some subtlety, but in the end, that doesn't diminish the appeal of its message, and that, ultimately, is what gives it more resonance outside of what it doesn't manage to do better.

Close is not a perfect film, but I really liked it because it's a drama that performs with more than sufficient solvency.… Expand

0 of 1 users found this helpful01

moviemitch96

Feb 17, 2023

A film that I wanted to like more than I did. While its intentions are noble and its heart in the right place, it at its core is an emotionally forced and formulaic story and comes off as mawkish at best with its story and themes, despite highly impressive performances from newcomers EdenA film that I wanted to like more than I did. While its intentions are noble and its heart in the right place, it at its core is an emotionally forced and formulaic story and comes off as mawkish at best with its story and themes, despite highly impressive performances from newcomers Eden Dambrine and Gustav De Waele. Overall, tender acting performances from all involved and some admittedly lush cinematography can't quite make up for all the forced sentiment. It simply feels like stuff I've seen time and again in other similarly-themed films.… Expand

0 of 2 users found this helpful02

Mauro_Lanari

Mar 11, 2023

This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. (Mauro Lanari)
If the identity problem led to suicide, from the most famous of the Delphic mottos onwards there would have been a massacre, the same for affective disappointments of any kind. Here the fragility that should have been plumbed is that not of Léo but of Rémi, of whom instead the director deigns to let us know that he plays the oboe as a soloist at a concert. With such an overturned script, there is no stylistic form that can hold up.
Ps: the funeral oration about the 4 seasons is gruesome. In spring, the old leaves are not reborn. They die and are replaced by new ones.… Expand

0 of 0 users found this helpful00

SEE ALL 7 REVIEWS

23	#23 Best Movie of 2023
62	#62 Most Discussed Movie of 2023