At its core, Come Closer is an unexpected reality check in a coming-of-age story about handling loss. Israeli writer-director Tom Nesher’s debut feature pushes emotions and reveals the underside of life, delivering a universal snapshot set in Tel Aviv, Israel. The story centers on the wild and restless Eden (Lia Elalouf) and her grieving process after her brother, Nati (Ido Tako), is killed in an accident. Eden has no fear and exudes confidence, drips with sexuality, and is adorned with bangles, chains, and hair ornaments. Eden discovers that her brother kept his girlfriend, Maya (Darya Rosenn), a secret from her and that Maya is her complete opposite. Yet curiosity and moxie drive Eden to meet Maya and develop a passionate, perilous bond over loss with a very vulnerable Maya.
Active camera angles at the onset of Come Closer set up the film’s most dramatic scene, in which Nati is killed the morning after his birthday, following a reckless drug- and alcohol-fueled binge at the beach that Eden arranges. Rough, loud, and showy, Eden had kidnapped her brother to bring him to his party and perhaps contributed to his demise. Learning that Eden and Nati come from a divorced family, with parents at odds and the family home at the center of grievances, only underscores Eden’s character and actions as she tries to cope with the loss of Nati, whom she cannot live without.
“Eden discovers that her brother kept his girlfriend, Maya, a secret from her and that Maya is her complete opposite.”
Eden is between high school and college in limbo. She is promiscuous and tough, working and hanging out at a nightclub where she is sleeping with the owner, whose wife is pregnant. Her connection with Maya is bizarre until it becomes sexual. Maya takes a high school trip to Auschwitz, which highlights their differences as Israelis and puts Eden in a more hostile state and loss. Eden’s inability to connect to anyone on an emotionally meaningful level makes her almost unlikable until you realize how sad and confused she is about the life, people, sex, and relationships that have been put in her path. Maya’s loss is serious as well, but her innocence and curiosity are under Eden’s control. Eden takes her on a spontaneous, emotionally intense road trip to the beaches of Sinai in search of an escape—a mysterious but empty landscape. There, Eden flirts with other men, which repels Maya. It is here that Eden recognizes her own destructive nature.
Well-acted and clear with a modern-day, contemporary, real-world mission in handling the metaphors of loss, emotional destruction, and reconstruction, where Tel Aviv and Israel serve as an interesting backdrop for Come Closer. The toughness of the Hebrew language in its sounds and the emotion with which it is spoken also add to the mix of having to be tough in the life we live and the understanding that all is fleeting, no matter your confidence or innocence. Come Closer brings a world far from the U.S. a little bit nearer with a story that so many can understand, as loss and grievance have no bounds, but people grieve the same everywhere and at every age.
"…a story that so many can understand, as loss and grievance have no bounds..."
