Closer to Così fan tutte? The film soundtrack, intertextuality and reception

Contemporary film music analysis recognizes the intertextual relations at stake when a film uses ‘stock music’. This article demonstrates the significance of variant readings in intertextual analysis, using the example of Mike Nichols’ Closer (2004), whose soundtrack includes extracts from Mozart’s Così fan tutte. The article considers different levels of readings and how to avoid over-interpretation when it comes to intertextuality.