Closer

Mike Nichols' powerful character driven drama is one of the best movies of the year, and it'll get a lot of awards, and very well deserved.
Based on a play by Patrick Marber (who also adapted it to the big screen), the movie deals with love, sex and passion and the conversations as real as possible, even when they're painful and cruel, specially when they talk about fucking, very explicit.
The movie is very small too, there's only 4 main characters and then only 2 more actors listed in the credits but they do not participate in the movie at all. The score is also worth mentioning.

The performances are all great, and I'll start with the one and only Julia Roberts (or 'My Julia' as I, her biggest fan ever likes to call her) as Anna, and she's marvelous. Better than Erin Brockovich? I couldn't say right now, haven't seen that one in a while, but this one is sure excellent and worthy of an Oscar nomination (just cause Kate Winslett has the best performance by an actress this year with Eternal Sunshine). She does laugh, or smiles really, and I loved that, but when she put on the drama she was brilliant.

Jude Law, who I still really like and do not think (like some) that he's over exposed this year with so many movies (all of them good to excellent with great performances by him), plays Dan, and he's great. Funny, romantic, serious, sad, he does it all perfect. Oscar worthy? I don't think so. There's been too many better starring performances by actors this year like Depp, Foxx, Giamatti, Carrey, DiCaprio and Neeson to name a few, plus his performance is surpassed by the other man in the movie.

And that man is Clive Owen as Larry, a magnetic portrayal that I really couldn't take my eyes out of him. He also does it all, but with much more power than Jude Law. He was in King Arthur, but that movie was so bad that we couldn't see his acting range, and now he left me really impressed, and I would love for him not to get the James Bond role now, cause he'll go into action roles and he'll have less time to do this dramatic acting he does so well.
He's getting an Oscar nomination this year for sure, and it's going to be between him and Thomas Haden Church (Sideways) for the win.

Natalie Portman is a tricky one for me, I really don't like her. And though I do find her beautiful, I'm not attracted by her (she's too small), but here, she's the only one that makes you look at her instead of Clive Owen. Of course, it helps that she's almost naked and playing a stripper for a good part of the movie. And no, we don't see her fully naked but just remember those strippers in the strip clubs and she's just like them, lap dance and all, but with her top on.
But wait, she's not all about that, as her acting goes far beyond what she did in Garden State. She's extremely great here as Alice, and she'll get a nomination too.

Again, the cast is so good (I just read they just won the National Board of Review award for Best Ensemble Cast) , and the story, while small in relation to all the epics and biopics we've had this year, is just a good or better than most of what we've seen this year and is sure to get the recognition it deserves.