Two Lovers Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES PLOT SUMMARY
A Brooklyn-set romantic drama about a bachelor (Phoenix) torn between the family friend his parents wish he would marry and his beautiful but volatile new neighbor.
| Joaquin Phoenix | Leonard Kraditor |
| Gwyneth Paltrow | Michelle Rausch |
| Vinessa Shaw | Sandra Cohen |
| Isabella Rossellini | Ruth Kraditor |
| Elias Koteas | Ronald Blatt |
| Moni Moshonov | Reuben Kraditor |
| David Cale | Jeweler |
| Nick Gillie | Livery Driver |
| RJ Konner | Upscale Opera Guest |
| Evan Lewis | Uncle |
| John Ortiz | Jose Cordero |
| David Ross | Waiter |
| Jose Edwin Soto | |
| Uzimann | Cab Driver |
| Mark Vincent | Ronald's driver |
| James Gray |
6.70 out of 10 (2766 votes)
Visitor Reviews
A dynamite mixture for a powerful tale.
posted on 23 Aug 2009Note I have tried to avoid spoilers here but the warning is in place just in case.This was a film I watched and enjoyed during one of my rare visits to a movie theatre. Yes, I am a cultural moron and Philistine usually preferring to watch DVD movies in the comfort of my home. Unless a movie is especially panoramic or epic in nature nothing is lost by watching it on the small screen. I could have equally enjoyed Two Lovers in DVD. This little melodrama does not need a large screen. It is a simple film based on a simple but well-crafted tale, a melodramatic short story. It is also helped along by a wonderful cast. The background music is haunting and sad.The film begins with a half–hearted suicide attempt by the anti-hero Leonard Kraditor (amiably played by Joaquin Phoenix who is one of my favourite screen actors). Leonard is the adult thirty something son of émigré Israeli parents (who make a modest living from a rundown dry-cleaning business). The parents are played by the Israeli actor Moni Moshonov and his wife (Ruth) by Isabella Rossellini who seems a bit too calm for a typical anxious Jewish mother. But that is the part allotted to her by the script and is no reflection on her acting. (Maybe the scriptwriters did not want to go over the top in stereotyping ). Leonard is the typical Mediterranean only son suffocated by kindness and intense family bonds. (At one point his parents demand to know where he has been).There's our would-be suicidal anti-hero, single and dwelling at home with Momma and Poppa in a dingy, rather Bohemian apartment Brighton Beach, a seedy immigrant district, a backyard to America's great metropolis. Here is New York City without the glitter, glamour and excitement. It is late October or early November with grey chilly looking skies, wet and dismal. The main decor in the old fashioned apartment is a wall full of framed sepia photos of family ancestors ; Russians or East European Jews by their appearance.One naturally asks why the half–hearted attempt at suicide with which the film opens? It is partially the hopelessness of Leonard's life, as it seems to him. He has achieved nothing and does odd jobs at the store. His fiancée has just left him because they both share a common regressive gene which would mean that any infant born to them would not survive (perhaps this brutal fact is used as an excuse by the girl to leave him). We get only a brief glance of her for about a second in the movie. She is a factor of Leonard's immediate past rather than a character. Leonard himself is clever, humorous and handsome in an unusual albeit rather shabby way, whose hobby is photography.The essence of the tale begins after his parents invite the Cohens, for dinner with their children including a very attractive and alluring thirty something brunette daughter Sandra (Vanessa Shaw). Michael Cohen owns a much larger dry-cleaning business than Mr. Kraditor's and has his eyes on Reuben's own store. Naturally a marriage between the two families would be ideal; Reuben could have the retirement he longs for while Leonard would run the expanded business resulting from the merger.At the same time they can relax after Sandra's wedding;from the Cohen's viewpoint she has been single too long.There is evidently a mutual attraction between the two young people , but unknown to the Cohens or his parents there has been a new development in Leonard's life that will complicate matters.By chance Leonard bumps into Michelle Rausch (Gywneth Paldrow) in the corridor just outside his parents' home. She's a pretty blonde girl who dwells in the same shabby but genteel apartment complex as Leonard but it is the first time he has seen her close up. Michelle is single and rather older than Leonard. Her lover, a married man with kids, pays her rent. It turns out she's, spoiled, emotionally mixed up and addicted to club life, alcohol and ecstasy pills but not dumb. She is a far cry from the more attractive, caring and dependable Sandra Cohen. Indeed, Michelle can be quite callous with Leonard at times.an is using him. However, in Leonard's eyes Michelle is his own choice not somebody thrust upon him by his parents for family business reasons. It is the typical infatuation of a dusky Mediterranean male with a Baltic or Scandinavian blonde (see Al Pacino in Carlito's Way). Is Leonard making a mistake? Thereby hangs the tale and I leave it to the prospective moviegoer to follow how the tale unfolds an whether or not they like the conclusion (I did although an entirely different and alternative ending was in the cards ). Two lovers, one a crazy girl friend with awesome complications, and the other a prospective steady fiancée approved by his parents, between them and our anti-hero it's a dynamite mixture for a powerful tale.
What film-making should be--another seamless collaboration of Gray and Phoenix
posted on 21 Aug 2009As I watched, and enjoyed Two Lovers, it became clear why this was a limited release film, why early reviews predicted Hollywood wouldn't much know what to do with it. This is a mature, thoughtful, well-made, well-paced, and very well-acted film. And while I don't think that there aren't mature, thoughtful audiences out there, studios can sometimes not give them much credit. But as I watched Two Lovers it revealed itself as few modern movies do, the director, James Gray, is the guide but has an invisible touch. The story is simple but powerful in its reflection on love and choices, as guided by fate and impossibility.Leonard (Joaquin Phoenix) is a young man in his early 30's who has moved in with his parents following a devastating broken engagement and a suicide attempt. His parents are concerned over his fragility and mental stability (there are whisperings of depression and possibly bi-polar disorder) and encourage his involvement with family friend Sandra (Vinessa Shaw) a young woman more than willing to "take care of him." But when Leonard meets Michelle (Gwyneth Paltrow), his neighbor across the courtyard, he soon becomes smitten with the fun, enticing blonde. As both relationships progress and provide further complications (Michelle's other involvements, the business opportunities a life with Sandra will provide) a simply put but tremendously complex question is posed: do you choose the one you love or the one who loves you? Like Gray's past films, notably The Yards and We Own the night for this viewer who has yet to see Little Odessa, this doesn't fashion a predictable run. Some filmmakers may have leaned towards a more typical romance, with clear-cut characters, a couple to root for and a happy ending. Like his past films, Gray's characters feel real, flawed, whose actions yield personal consequences. Its ending will leave some viewers inferring a hopeful conclusion, others a tragic one. The story was moving, at times funny, at times profound, and deeply affecting.Of course, it's impossible to praise the film without focusing on Joaquin Phoenix's performance. Given Gray's propensity to write for him, their mutual praise, and the phenomenal portrayals that result, one can only deduce that this was a pairing fated to happen. Gray knows how to write human, imperfect, complicated, conflicting lead roles and equally or perhaps more importantly, Phoenix knows how to bring them to life. His Leonard is sometimes a sad, tragic figure but at turns can fill the screen with so much light and so much charisma you almost wonder, for a moment, why there aren't more than two women chasing after this troubled young man who lives with his parents. In a scene in a car with Michelle and her friends leading into a surprisingly sexy dance scene in a club, Phoenix's boyish, natural charm wins the women over in impressively little time. Leonard also is a bit socially awkward, playful, but clumsy and seemingly out of place with the world, Joaquin plays this wonderfully and very believably, but it did inspire a reaction from my viewing mate that I found rather entertaining. She remarked that Joaquin is so handsome and has such a stunning, intense look, that to see him play a bit of a socially inept, goofy character didn't suit his looks. She may have a point, in that his looks seem more suited to his We Own the Night character--confident, cool. But nothing could detract from his performance here. He is certainly the heart of the film, and adds a quietness and depth to Leonard that made me eager for future viewings. And to add something that stands out to me here, there is something so genuine about Phoenix's emotional, crying scenes that it catches me off guard and seems to within instant make so many other actors' "crying" scenes seem like artifice. Perhaps it's a further glean into his gift as an actor, but something so tender is revealed in these moments, it brings great humanity to those scenes.The rest of the cast does very well. This is Gwyneth's best work in years, perhaps her best role as well, she doesn't disappoint. Shaw's beauty is toned down, which helps in making her less of a stunner and more a nice-looking local girl who's instantly attracted to Leonard's shy charm. Both Moni Moshonov and Isabella Rossellini, as Leonard's parents, are great opposite Phoenix, the three share a believable comfort with each other.Two Lovers is a great character-driven drama centering on a troubled young man's impossible choice to either try for a life he never knew he could have, or the one he feels he's intended to have. This is elegant film-making with moving drama, a great cast, and another masterful performance from Phoenix, again completely in-sync with Gray's storytelling. Theirs is a seamless collaboration.
A small, but very affective watch.
posted on 19 Aug 2009James Gray's latest film tells the tale of Leonard Kraditor (Joaquin Phoenix), a man who had a problematic break-up with his fiancée two years ago, and has since been heading down a suicidal road. 4-months into living back home with his anxious parents (played by Moni Moshonov and Isabella Rossellini) and helping out at his father's dry-cleaning business, Leonard is introduced to Sandra (Vinessa Shaw), a sweet daughter of his father's business friend. Wearing her heart on her sleeve, Leonard has moments of true spark with her, and you can see his eyes changing away from the torment inside. A woman is surely the right thing for Leonard, as he carves through the days with a worn-out heart and a mind in loneliness. Soon after meeting Sandra, he befriends Michelle (Gwyneth Paltrow), a beautiful but messed-up girl that's dating her married boss (played by Elias Koteas). With her, Leonard sees an escape, and a burning romance. Leonard's mind is now set on two women, and he finds himself torn between them.James Gray hadn't really impressed me with his earlier films, for me they all lacked out on the intensity and became standard crime-thrillers. With his latest melodramatic romance, he really surprised me; he does a caring job directing the three performers, and he tells a strange and tender story. The music of the film is Jewish guitar-instrumentals that are carefully intertwined, but most of the film has got a blanket of quiet bleakness, and it's covering every little corner.The performances of Gwyneth Paltrow and Vinessa Shaw are great, and although the two never share screen-space, director Gray naturally and carefully shifts between the two lives Leonard is living, and so the two of them add lovely pieces to the story. But it's in-between the double relationship the film and its protagonist is living, the film has to connect, and it couldn't have been done better than by Joaquin Phoenix. Leonard is a suicidal depressive that enters human-bounding and the give & receive of it, and this is a very difficult character to portray - but just look at Phoenix, he is phenomenal; the incredible naturalism of it shows Phoenix in the performance of his career.The melancholy of the film doesn't make it for the dominant audience, but I've never even cared a bit for that, and it's a delight that romance on screen can be thrown upon like this. 'Two Lovers' is a small film with a heart that's full of rare atmosphere, the form of it is tearing and in center, a superb Joaquin Phoenix.
Fumbling in the Dark
posted on 16 Jul 2009I wasn't expecting to go to this film, I didn't know anything about it, a friend and I went to the cinema, looked at our options and chose this.Having no expectations, not having heard or seen any hype about it, I was surprised at how much I enjoyed it. I think all aspects of a *good* film are present. It is beautifully shot and quite brilliantly acted which together created the right, moody, slightly claustrophobic atmosphere for this rather bleak, sometimes humorous, story to progress.We're given a brief, intimate insight into three damaged individuals lives and I think ultimately shows us some conflicting concepts that arise from the pursuit of love and happiness, and familial duty.I'm pretty certain this is the best film I've seen so far this year. While there's no way of comparing this to my last years favourite of No country for Old Men, I think this might also be Oscar material.
Inconclusive but Excellent Romantic Drama
posted on 08 Jul 2009TWO LOVERS is exactly the kind of film we'd like to see more of. Blessedly free of action heroes trying to save the world, it offers an honest look at a handful of people (5) trying to work through their love lives. The gritty look of Brighton Beach is made better with the gritty portrayal by an excellent acting ensemble.No character's story ends with the end of a movie, but 99 times out of 100 we can accept that problems are resolved and we can go home and feed the cat. Not here. When TWO LOVERS ends there is no more reason to think matters are resolved any more now than when Joaquin (wa-keen) Phoenix attempts suicide in the first 60 seconds. Not for a minute. No reason to think the relationship severed with Girl #1 will stay ended for even 24 hours. More likely she'll call and restore contact. No reason to think his engagement to Girl #2 will end in marriage. Not only is marrying Girl #2 when he loves Girl #1 a prescription for disaster; but likely the engagement will end either when Girl #1 calls or when he gets a grip on reality.Strongly recommended, if you see this one I can almost guarantee you'll talk about it afterward.
Predictable and tacky.
posted on 08 Jul 2009It all happens in a "Theresa Raken" like suffocating micro-realm of dry cleaning business placed right into the middle of Yiddish/Russian Brighton Beach second/third generations of immigrants' community. Mama's and papa's son tries to individuate/separate, but the 'first taker/rescuer to be' happened to have the same genetic disorder as he - so they couldn't marry. Loyal, obedient and troubled by his suppressed rage young man proceeds to have a 'nervous breakdown', becomes suicidal and spends unspecified time in the mental institution, as we can infer. Now he is stagnating in his parents apartment and business. Separation anxiety permeates all immigrant communities. Enters 'rescuer number two' - daughter of another - bigger and mightier dry cleaning micro-tycoon. This nice, somewhat depressed, apparently after traumas of other unsuccessful relationships, 'wife to be' longs to become the substitute of her 'Mother-in-law to be' and recipient of her precious sonny boy into her fold of control and care. Meanwhile a neighboring 'Borderline Personality type seductress on a prowl' sweeps our hero off his feeble feet and he is propelled from a depressed into a manic nincompoop. Then all becomes painfully predictable and rather ridiculous.If after reading all this, you still are planning to spend your time and money watching this 'gefilte fish dish' - I shouldn't continue, though it is impossible to spoil it. It spoils itself - when in the first frames you know how the underwater exercise is going to end and in the last - the recycling of the ring - to develop. By the way - do you thing that it is possible that there will be a small hurricane, which will lift the duffel bag (forgotten by the Assistant Director)and deliver it to its owner? That would be ultimate happy ending. Meanwhile, it was not so bad for me. I was pleased to see Gwyneth Paltrow, Isabella Rossellini and other excellent actors. They didn't manage to fully compensate for the inadequate script, but that was impossible. Plus - my loss was not that great because a) I was able to get out of the house and b) I, being a 'senior', have spent a half of what majority of the other viewers would.
James Gray finally realizes his potential!!
posted on 06 Jul 2009This is a genuine masterpiece. Vinessa Shaw and Gwyneth Paltrow star as Joaquin Phoenix' two lovers, who are involved in a time bomb of a triangle relationship; the film deals very well with how people are drawn to people who need them rather than people they need, how scarred people will fall back on self-destruction because they believe they don't deserve to be happy, and how difficult it is for a damaged person to dare hope again. This gem cost 12 million. That's one tenth of the Transformers 2 movie's budget. What a sad sign of today's cultural wasteland. I hope you'll find some time in your busy day for this film.
A pure pearl !
posted on 06 Jul 2009First, i have to admit that i wasn't expecting something extraordinary - at the end i got something that actually it is extraordinary and all of that because of the great acting we get from the leads, especially Joaquin's performance which is Oscar worthy. The script is amazing - it is deep, it feels real and it will make you think for days about many serious important everyday issues... To conclude my short review without saying anything about the plot or the story, i'll only add that this is one of the best love dramas i've ever seen - i recommend it to everyone!p.s. i really hope Joaquin will get back to acting cause his potential is unbelievable, he might become one of the most successful actors of our generation of course if he is smart to choose the right roles for him.
Are you a f*ck-up?
posted on 30 Jun 2009James Gray (We Own the Night) and Joaquin Phoenix work well together, and it is a shame if this is the last time.Phoenix is a troubled young man dumped by his fiancée, but soon finds two women with whom he can share his time - Michelle (Gwyneth Paltrow) and Sandra (Vinessa Shaw).The family would rather he gravitate towards Sandra, but how can you ignore the brilliance of Gwyneth as Michelle. She just lights up a room every time she appears.A serious film about love and loss; it is probably the best work that Phoenix has ever done.
Very Good Love Triangle Drama
posted on 30 Jun 2009Looking at the trailers for this movie was a bit off putting; it wasn't clear what the story was really about, aside from the title. There was Leonard (Joaquin Phoenix) & the 2 women but that really didn't provide much of a clue to what the main plot was, which was almost entirely about Joaquin Phoenix's character & his struggle with his mental problems. The love interests were incidental.I really like the way this movie was constructed, written, directed, the cinematography captured Brighton Beach in Winter, dark, gray, etc. beautifully. Joaquin Phoenix did a great job as the troubled young man living with his parents, who adopted him as a child. The supporting cast was outstanding, with Gwyneth Paltrow as Leonard's true desire, Isabella Rosselini as Leonard's Mother, and many others who were all very good.I suppose the one element that stretched the imagination was the attraction Sandra (Vinessa Shaw) felt for Leonard. He lived with his parents and worked at his father's dry cleaning business doing manual chores. He was a loser through and through, and a psychologically impaired one at that. That part didn't make much sense. But ignoring that, it was a very good movie & well worth checking out.
I Loathed This Movie
posted on 28 Jun 2009It's not uncommon for me to disagree with the critical and/or popular consensus concerning a given movie, but usually if I dislike a movie that other people admire I can at least recognize what they see in it. But for the life of me I can't read or hear anybody praising this movie as "romantic" or "sensitive" or "touching" without shouting "WHAT THE F*$% IS WRONG WITH YOU?!?" "Two Lovers" is hollow, false, manipulative trash. It trades on the (utterly FALSE) stereotype that depressed, uncommunicative, inert people are "deep" and "tormented" rather than "undermedicated."Leonard is "artistic" simply because he uses black and white film in his camera? Please. His humiliating neglect of Sandra somehow leads to her saying "You're so kind to me"? You're f%$&*%$ kidding me. Michelle is damaged enough that yeah, she might get herself mixed up with a trainwreck like Leonard. Maybe the filmmakers intended to show us that Sandra was ALSO emotionally crippled, thus explaining why she turns all of his abuse and neglect into "he loves me!" (like Krazy Kat getting hit in the head with Ignatz's bricks, which she receives as kisses), but I missed it. If Leonard's parents are so blind that they can't see that their son is a basket case, are Sandra's parents also so indifferent to the hell that their daughter will end up enduring, if she marries this man? When Sandra's father asks Leonard point blank "Are you a f#$%-up?", I wanted to shout at the screen "YES HE IS! You know that too, or else you wouldn't be asking!"The only way I could possibly consider this movie to be a success on any level is if I were told that the filmmakers INTENDED us to see Leonard as a monster, and that the audience is INTENDED to view the uncomprehending ignorance of this fact by everyone around him with revulsion.
A great dive to the sea of human emotions and insecurities
posted on 24 Jun 2009The movie is really great. The performances are excellent , the romance and drama is intense and you become one with the character of Leonard. Most of the characters are deep..You have a disappointed guy cause his fiancé dumbed him , who lives with his parents and unsuccessfully commits suicide twice.. You have a kinda lost and extremely insecure woman who tries to hold on to someone , and a caring and loving Sandra . Well here , she is not well analyzed and the reason she shows that much love to Leonard is not explained thoroughly. Some may argue that is not a serious problem though , as the story is most about Leonard and Michell. Anyway what astonished me and what I want to comment about is the way James Gray grasps and presents the feelings and emotions of Leonard. The way he finds salvation in Michelle's face. The way Leonard behaves , and the choices he makes are so "reasonably" unreasonable , that I am just in awe .. Everything that happens comes so naturally in my opinion. In the end , some may be disappointed. Well, I'm not one of those.. It restores the natural order of things. I don't want to comment more about it so I don't reveal anything. Overall , it is so carefully directed, I could't find a simple hole in the story or anything . For those who like dramas/romance , a must see :) 9/10
Solid, intense character study from James Gray
posted on 22 Jun 2009Gray's fourth film, his first without a crime element, is amazing, and surprises even with its title. It's a triumph for Joaquin Phoenix, who provides a remarkably giving and open performance even though the character he plays, Leonard Kraditor, is opaque. He's a damaged, emotionally unstable man with attempted suicides in his past: the film, cheerlessly--yet ironically--begins with yet another one. He does know his own sad history, dominated by a broken engagement. On medication for bi-polar disorder, he's been reduced to living with his parents in the Russian and Jewish community of Brighton Beach, Gray's home territory, site of 'Little Odessa,' his distinctive little first film and equally of his subsequent, more grandiloquent ones. (The last, 'We Own the Night', also starred Phoenix.) Leonard doesn't know who he is or what he wants. He may not dare to want anything. He's working, fumblingly, in the dry cleaning establishment on the ground floor that's owned by his Pop, Reuben (Moni Moshikov). He's lost clothes making deliveries; and he's lost himself.A friend of Leonard's father, Michael Cohen (Bob Ari) has a small chain of dry cleaners Pop's going to merge with. Cohen has a daughter, Sandra (Vinessa Shaw), whom the parents have set up with Leonard. He's only a little interested. But he does take her into his little boy's bedroom to show her his black and white photographs of destroyed shopfronts. He's so needy, he welcomes any attention. Sandra is very interested in him. She finds him not odd, but special. And she has a sweetness about her than lingers in the mind.But then another woman unexpectedly appears: a new neighbor, the blond and dangerous Michelle (Gwyneth Paltrow). Even at their first meeting in the hallway she's in trouble, being verbally abused by her visiting father, and in need of comfort and protection. And from then on whenever Michelle calls on Leonard, however bad the time or awkward the occasion, he can never say no. She's pretty, even glamorous, but also unhealthy. She's been on drugs. Leonard can see her window upstairs from his room, and she becomes a glittering object of desire, so near and yet so far. Because he wants her, but she thinks of him from the first as like a brother.So there are the "two lovers"--Leonard's two women, Sandra, who knows his problems and wants to take care of him, and Michelle, who knows them and takes advantage to make him a comforting pillow in her troubles with Ronald (Elias Koteas), her married lawyer boyfriend. Michelle has Leonard come to a fancy restaurant to meet Ronald and size him up, tell her if he thinks Ronald will ever leave his wife. Instead, while Michelle's in the ladies' room, Ron asks Leonard to watch out for her and see that she's not using again. Then Michelle and Ron go off to his firm's box at the Met and leave Leonard in the company limo. It's a sobering moment that defines Leonard's lostness and the film's originality.Leonard seems a misfit and a loser, but when Michelle takes him clubbing, he does some rapping in the car and break-dances wildly; he's got some game, somewhere. He also has those strong Jewish Russian family ties that run through Gray's films but don't save his protagonists from disaster. His mother Ruth (Isabella Rossellini, with a severe haircut) watches kindly over him and both his Pop and Cohen are ready to look out for him too. Shooting photos at Cohen's son's bar mitzvah, Leonard is part of a community, however awkwardly. He meets Michelle up on the roof. She doesn't fit in. But he wants her desperately. Meanwhile Sandra declares her love to him at a beach-side restaurant with complicated blue napkins.'Two Lovers' is aswarm with an elaborate sound design that can be obtrusive. Background music overwhelms conversation at a family gathering, and an echoing passage from 'Cavalleria rusticana' is a bit overdone. It's more firmly glued together by images of long subway rides and dark expensive cars. Though the latter may seem leftovers from Gray's 'The Yards' and 'We Own the Night,' Gray has done a good job of downsizing from those while holding onto their resonance.Joaquin Phoenix's performance is awkward in a way that would be very painful if it didn't feel so authentic and real. His Leonard is pathetic and lost, but has an inner core of goodness and generosity that makes it seem there may be hope for him. He's a real sucker, but he's a real decent fellow. Leonard has nothing, and so he is ready to throw away his life and throw it away again. Gray goes back to the smallness of his first film, but with a far greater intensity. Leonard's crises feel momentous. Their resolution is a quiet, mute shock. As in other Gray films, the hero blends into a party, and a family network. This time the sense of family and ritual is more offhand and organic than in the preceding two films.'Two Lovers' has powerful moments. It's like a good short story and it has a surprise O. Henry ending. The performances are uniformly fine. The texture is thick enough with a sense of people and places to override some implausibility in the events. Phoenix's performance will have detractors who find Phoenix too awkward and say it's just as well he plans to quit acting after this for music. But on the contrary this movie made me see how disarming and unique the actor, once overshadowed by his dazzling brother River, has come to be at 35. It would be sad if he left the screen.
This hard candy is placebo.
posted on 10 Jun 2009It's one of the most thinly written movies I've seen recently. OK, we get it from the very start that Phoenix's character is depressed and tries to commit suicide. Then for the whole duration of the movie he's trying to act normal, trying to choose between one hot brunette, that's he doesn't love (but doesn't mind banging), and one hot blonde, he's mad about. We never know what are the reasons for his condition, and we don't know anything interesting about him or his two lovers. For the film that tries to be serious psychological drama it's pretty shallow and underwritten. And allusions to Dostoevsky that are dropped by the film-makers and picked up here on the Board are just an attempt to bring some weight and cultural baggage to otherwise vaporous script.
The Flight Of Joaquin Phoenix
posted on 10 Jun 2009Perhaps, the most startling aspect of "Two Lovers" is Joaquin Phoenix's performance. Superb. I haven't really liked any of the James Gray's films, until now that is. There is something profoundly moving and profoundly truthful here and I'm sure it has to do with Phoenix's portrayal. Gwynneth Paltrow is wonderful as the girl walking an emotional tightrope. And Vinessa Shaw is a real find. I was also moved by Isabella Rossellini as Joaquin's mother! Beautiful and intense but unlike many of her contemporaries not "cosmetic" A real extraordinary face. In fact she looks more like her mother Ingrid Bergman now than she ever did. So, a smart, romantic "dramedy" with wonderful performances. When was the last time I was able to say that? Go see it and tell me if you think I'm exaggerating at all.
Exceptional Romantic Drama without the Schmaltz
posted on 10 Jun 2009Joaquin Phoenix' last film before his "retirement" from acting is a wonderful unconventional romantic drama. Phoenix plays Leonard Kraditor, a suicidal man who hasn't gotten over his broken wedding engagement. He is introduced to the daughter of the man who is going to buy his father's dry cleaning business. Sandra Cohen, (Vinessa Shaw) is beautiful, charming, down to earth, not very exciting. At the same time, Leonard by happenstance meets Michelle Rausch (Gwyneth Paltrow), she is alluring, exciting and has a swirl of drama going on around her at all times. Leonard is ton between these two women but his heart is set on one, but will that be the best choice for him.Top notch acting by the whole cast which is rounded out by Elias Koteas and Isabella Rosselini. Mr. Phoenix has a great connection with all his costars, especially Gwyneth. The film is ripe with emotional depth and complexity and is well suited for Mr. Phoenix talents. He is truthful, honest and really conveys emotion without lapsing into melodrama. Too bad this film wasn't well received due to Mr. Phoenix bad press and tales of his mental instability, whether true or a hoax. I do hope he gets back to acting soon and hangs up the hip hop microphone, as he is a natural talent that keeps getting better with every film.
disappointing
posted on 02 Jun 2009Joaquin Phoenix would be well advised to quit acting, as he has vowed to do after this film, if this is the effort he is going to put into his roles. His refusal to enunciate comes across as lack of passion and engagement rather than ease and command of the role. Admittedly, he is working with thin and mediocre material in this script . . . underdeveloped characters with little or no context and less motivation. After squirming for most of the film at the unpleasantness of the lead character, we manage to muster some degree of sympathy for him at the end . . . but it's closer to relief, since the sense of identification we get is largely negative. The character's present and future family deserve better and so does the audience. Seeing how low we can set our expectations in life and art is an artificial exercise in minimalism.
Are you kidding me!?!?!!?!?!
posted on 19 May 2009This movie was so shallow and so predictable that half way thru I hoped Leanard would jump off the bridge again and finally succeed. Am I supposed to feel sorry for him? He doesn't deserve the GOOD girl. He doesn't care about her and he spends so much of his time following the psycho around that you don't care what happens to either of them by the end. The only people I really felt for were his father and mother because he treated them with such disrespect. How immature, grow-up and take some responsibility for yourself. This is Typical Hollywood CRAP where the "ONLY ONE FOR ME" disses you so 2 minutes later you find your next TRUE love. There was so much wrong with this movie that if I started writing about it now Joaquin Phoenix would be old enough for REAL retirement before I would finish. Thank God this is his LAST Film.
Trivial plot as vehicle for brilliant cinema
posted on 15 May 2009Wonderful, touching, albeit with a slightly predictable story. Every scene is crafted with utmost skill, every actor/actress is shining.There are two especially troubled characters, the hub of a chain of unrequited desires: Michelle (a Gwyneth Paltrow like we did not see for years) the secret lover of a married man (Elias Koteas, fine as well), and Leonard (Joaquín Phoenix) who adores her but himself the object of all attention by the beautiful Sandra (Vinessa Shaw, great actress). It is not a love triangle: the central characters of Leonard and Michelle are not wanted by more than one. Both actors portray misery on theirs characters in a deep, beautiful manner.The wonderful skill of James Gray is to tell the story in such a way that draws deep emotion. Very much unlike the complicated plots by David Lynch, sophistication is attained here without sacrificing on simplicity or clarity.
Outstanding movie - go see it!
posted on 23 Aug 2009This is an outstanding movie. I believed in the characters, all of whom were presented sympathetically - unique for a movie like this. The characters are not stereotypes, and behave in ways that while natural are not expected. It is also a very romantic movie. The acting is excellent. In particular Joaquin Phoenix is terrific. He plays what should be an impossible role - instead, he is completely natural and right. The actress who plays the mother is perfect - and the character is also a remarkable one. The movie really stayed with me - in a good way. I thought about it for a long time after it was over. I recommend it very highly.