Come Closer: Israel’s International Submission to Last Year’s Oscars

This film’s emotional dynamics are similar to that of Just Between Friends (1986), in which Mary Tyler Moore befriends Christine Lahti, even though she was having an affair with her late husband, Ted Danson. However, one of the big, glaring differences in this case is Eden happened to be the late Nati’s sister. Technically, there was nothing shocking or scandalous about their relationship. Yet, they shared such an intimate trust, Eden’s discovery of his romance with Maya leads to feelings of jealousy, betrayal, and obsession in director-screenwriter Tom Nesher’s Come Closer, which opens today in New York.

Nati was supposed to meet Maya for a date, but instead, Eden and their hard-partying friends kidnapped him, to celebrate his birthday on the beach. He tried to sneak back to Maya once everyone else crashed, but he was fatally struck down crossing the highway. Consequently, both women will have justification for blaming the other during the heated moments to come.

When Maya and her mother attend the funeral, nobody knows who they are. Driven by unhealthy curiosity, Eden figures out who she is and what she was to her brother. Soon, Eden reluctantly accepts that their relationship was real, so she tries to befriend Maya, to better understand the secret side of Nati.

Even under ordinary circumstances, it is probably difficult befriending Eden, because she is more than a little crazy. As a result, their friendship spawns very different forms of co-dependency, while ambiguously veering into lesbian attraction. Some of the obsessive behavior rings uncomfortably true, while the sexual overtones often feel forced and exploitative.

Tom Nesher is indeed the daughter of acclaimed Israeli filmmaker Avi Nesher (who helmed Image of Victory, The Matchmaker, and The Secrets), but she has extensive experience working as a journalist for Israeli network television, so it is unfair to dismiss her as a “nepo baby.” It would also be downright mean-spirited, considering Nesher’s screenplay was inspired by her own experiences after the untimely death of her brother.

Come Closer arguably captures the emotional messiness of grief with more honestly than most films (definitely including Just Between Friends). Yet, frustratingly, Nesher never realizes when to stop when she is ahead, instead pushing the envelope to almost absurd extremes. Still, the courage of Lia Elalouf’s lead performance is impressive (and exhausting). Frankly, most thesps would wilt next to her, but Darya Rosenn still manages to project Maya’s raw pain, as well as her naivete and confusion.

Indeed, the unfiltered emotional excesses of Come Closer are its greatest merits and its most conspicuous shortcomings. Still, Nesher shoots for the moon without a safety net, which is laudably daring. It probably isn’t sufficiently successful to recommend in theaters, but the talented young cast are worth taking note of. For intrigued patrons of Israeli cinema (the fact that some haters would ban this film simply based on its national origin is truly a vile disgrace), Come Closer opens today (12/5) in New York at the Quad.