Customer Reviews

Closet Land

5 star:		(34)
4 star:		(9)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(3)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

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Oh, yes, the movie. This movie is very, very emotional. It's about a gvmt. interrogator who accuses a writer of children's books of putting political propoganda in her books. LOTS of madness ensues. There are only two people in this movie, Alan Rickman (Interrogator) and Madeline Stowe (Victim). The Interrogator tries to break the Victim into admitting that she's putting political stuff in her books throughout the whole movie. Now, this may sound like boring suff, but the script and the acting and the story is so superb that the one and a half hours actually goes by quickly, with the viewer wanting to watch more.

Alan Rickman does an Oscar caliber job as the Interrogator. At first, he's calm and "kind" to the Victim; soon, he starts to break down. The scene where the Interrogator pretends to be two people at once shows SHEER ACTING TALENT.

Madeline Stowe is equally good as the victim, and the monologue she does inside the closet toward the end of the film was so well done the viewer could visualize everything she was talking about, and it's as if you were there.

However, this movie is very disturbing, with scenes of violence, and references to rape and abuse. It's one intense ride from beginning to end. This is psychological drama to the max, and it's deeply though provoking, disturbing, and talent-filled.

Don't miss your chance to get this movie! Or else, you probably will never see it again, except on obscure websites, selling for fifty bucks. Which is still worth it, but take the chance to get it on Amazon... while you still can.

This film is an accurate portrayal of the severity of torture and childhood sexual abuse. Closet Land is where this woman escaped to during the abuse she endured as a child.

Alan Rickman is an incredible actor. His skill enables him to play the part of an abuser frighteningly well. Madeleine Stowe plays the part of a child abuse survivor/political prisoner equally as realistic and powerful.

This is a very important movie if it is viewed as a way to understand abuse and torture. It is rare to see such an accurate depiction of the experience of abuse. The movie was tastefully done. All of the torture was alluded to; none of it was shown. I do not necessarily recommend this movie to abuse/torture survivors. It is extremely triggering, upsetting and disturbing.

The ending was powerful.

I watched this film with 3 guys of the terminator persuation. I asked them to try something different and see what they thought. If it Stank, we could always watch something mindless that explodes alot. We turned out the light and started the movie... Not a single peep from any of them until the end of the film. Suddenly, intellectual discussion spontaneously erupted from these otherwise shallow people...I was astounded. They found the movie enlightening and interesting and disturbing at the same time. Note: there are only two people in the entire film? This should have been on stage. Rickman was amazing and Stowe was a bright shining star.

Highly recommend as a change of pace...Topic is an adult one, I would say no children under 15.

This is a very powerful, moving and skillfully written and acted film. The above mentioned reviewer is most likely a product of the MTV generation of fast takes and shallow dialog. Often times movies that are panned by the 'common folk', are done so, because they watch movies for pure entertainment and have no appreciation for what goes into the craft of direction, dialog and overall film making.
This movie will not leave you with a 'good' feeling, but at least it will leave you with a profound impact.
No, it may not mirror true reality, but what film actually does completely.
I rented this movie years ago, (I do confess to wanting to see the lovely Madeline Stowe and the versatile actor Rickman) but was quickly absorbed into its depth and power.
Watch it in a quiet room with little distraction and I assure you; you will be moved.

and contrary to the earlier reviewers comments: I am not an actor, and I REALLY doubt the reviewer's belief in most of the viewers analysis of other reviewers. I give the film 5 stars to negate an otherwise insulting and innacurate portrayal of this wonderful movie.

do you like to be afraid? So afraid that your own shadow can make you jump? Do you have a certain level of paranoia built in that will not allow you to turn a corner without first looking.
are you the type who must watch a film to KEEP from thinking? Are you always looking for pure entertainment?

If you answered yes to any of that- be careful of watching this film. It is perhaps the single most dramatic piece either actour will ever attempt on film. It is enough to scare the daylights out of the sane and confirm the cruelty of the world to the unbalanced.

I will not tell you the story line. I will tell you that it will leave you sitting in silence, contemplating the entirity of the film. and never again will you look upon human rights violations with the same disconnection. We in the US live in relative safety from our governmental types. Most of the world does not.

Sleep tight.

I am an actor from the U.K. and had to rent a copy of this film whilst on holiday in L.A. to see it; since it's `release' in 1991 it has virtually vanished without trace! It has been performed as a play [adapted by Bharadwaj] both in the U.S. and U.K. - I saw a production last year at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival.

Though often pigeonholed as the snarling villain, Alan Rickman here produces work of real subtlety, allowing the audience to peer inside the interrogator as he peers into Madeline Stowe's prisoner; particulaly moving is the scene in which as the `resident witness' he describes himself to the prisoner in the third person. I got the feeling this is the interrogator's only release in the world he has found himself in. Stowe also gets a chance to shine - I suspect she has `risen' to films from much experience in the theatre; her monologue, which allows the camera to linger on her for two minutes, shows real power and sensitivity. A shame then, that this film was not `picked up' on release. In toning down the film or shifting locations Radha Bharadwaj may have made the film more accessible, and ultimately less powerful.

this incredibly intense movie is the thing of nightmares, both for the viewer and the character played by madeline stowe.

the only different slant i have to add from what other viewers have said is besides wanting to hate and fear Alan Rickman's character-i also think one has to also feel sorry for him.

what made him a child molester in the first place? was he really a college professor at one time? did the government "recruit" him as a torturer/interogator against his will? is he really being watched as he performs his "job" and what are the consequences to him if he disobeys? has he himself bee through some type of tortue and been "broken"? what is the meaning of the scene of him driving in the rain during a particularly intense part of the film-does he also have a "closet land" that he escapes to while performing inhuman acts of tortue? does he really regret all he is doing/has done or does it give him pleasure

only mr. rickman can inspire such conflicting feelings in us.

I watched this movie in the theatre when it came out in 1991. I was a senior in high school and was mezmorized and intrigued by the film. Two actors in basically one room through the entire film. I wasn't thrilled about my friends choice to go see it, however I walked away knowing I would never forget seeing this movie.

Worth five times the money to purchase it. It's not a film with a million budget so it will probably vanish in the near future. SAD because it is some of the best acting I've seen.

This film hits the heart with a reality like no other I have seen. It shows what us what we, in a democratic society, take for granted, and just what we are lucky enough not to be experiencing. The acting in the film is superb, sometimes you have to remind yourself that the movie is a dramatization, and not real life. Mr. Rickman does wonders with his role (as he does with all roles) making the interrogator fully dimensional and human. The set is incredible. It gives the feeling of 'in the round" theater. Which does not add or take away from the emotion of the action. This movie seeks to open the eyes of the viewer, and I'd say they have made a success of that goal.

The first time I saw this film I was repulsed and blown away by the brutality endured by the female prisoner. On repeated viewings I have been blown away by the subtle changes in each character.The acting in this two-person story is first-rate. Alan Rickman brings many layers of complexity to his character, the interrogator, who is as profoundly changed by the experience as is the prisoner. Although the story and subject matter are difficult to view, the acting is so fine that I find myself drawn back to the VCR and the tape for one more look. I have one question: Why didn't Rickman get an Oscar for this tour de force performance?