Close My Eyes (film)
| Close My Eyes | |
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Promotional movie poster for the film
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| Directed by | Stephen Poliakoff |
| Produced by | Therese Pickard |
| Written by | Stephen Poliakoff |
| Starring |
Alan Rickman Clive Owen Saskia Reeves |
| Music by | Michael Gibbs |
| Cinematography | Witold Stok |
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Production
company |
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Release date
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1991 |
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Running time
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100 minutes |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Language | English |
Close My Eyes is a 1991 film written and directed by Stephen Poliakoff and starring Alan Rickman, Clive Owen and Saskia Reeves as well as Lesley Sharp and Karl Johnson. Music was by Michael Gibbs (who would also provide the music for Poliakoff's next film, Century) and the film was produced for Beambright and FilmFour International by Therese Pickard.
The film won the Evening Standard film award for best picture in 1991.
The film opens in 1985. Town planning student Richard Gillespie (Clive Owen) walks through a scene of tower-blocks en route to visit his older sister Natalie (Saskia Reeves), whom he is not very close to since they each grew up with a different parent after their parents divorced. Natalie has recently bought a fairly noisy apartment with her lover only to have him leave her within two months. She is also unhappy in her job as a buyer. On Richard's insistence, they go for a late-night walk and Natalie seems to cheer up, but on waking in the middle of the night, due to loud music from the neighboring apartment, Richard finds Natalie still awake and still extremely depressed. Richard's attempts to lighten the mood are ended when Natalie pulls him into a somewhat passionate embrace, although she immediately apologizes and makes the excuse she just wanted someone to hug. Richard does not seem to have a reaction.
The film checks in on the two in 1987 and 1990. During this time, Richard becomes an extremely successful town planner and something of a lothario while Natalie's career stagnates in a succession of low-level administrative jobs she hates.
The next time they meet is 1991. Richard, committed to the environment and sustainable town planning, is interviewed for a job with the magazine Urban Alert, formed to put pressure on the planners of Docklands to consider the needs of the local residents. The editor, Colin (Karl Johnson), is somewhat skeptical of Richard's intentions but takes him on anyway to work with his deputy, Jessica (Lesley Sharp). Meanwhile, Natalie applies for a job as secretary to a very powerful and rich stock analyst named Sinclair Bryant (Alan Rickman). She does not get the job but later marries Sinclair.
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Wikipedia