Two Lovers Review

Neighbor: "Either of you ever use a fucking phone?!"
Leonard: "Josh, I want you to know, there is a fucking storm coming!"

Haha, I just loved that part.

But seriously, Two Lovers is a tense and breathtaking drama. It was released in 2009, directed and co-written by James Gray ("We Own the Night"), and stars Joaquin Phoenix, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Vinessa Shaw. It is a story not so much about love but about passion and dreams. It's about what people want for themselves, perhaps selfishly, as opposed to what they need that will benefit themselves, and maybe even everyone else. If love plays a part in the movie it only exists as an illusion. Some characters think that love is returned when given, while being blind to actual love in front of them.

The plot involves three main people in a neighborhood of Manhatten. Leonard (Joaquin Phoenix) is a morose and emotionally unstable young man whose been prone to suicide attempts following his fiance leaving him. He lives with his parents (Moni Moshonov and Isabella Rossellini) as of late and works in their dry cleaning business. Suddenly two women appear in his life. There is Sandra (Vinessa Shaw), the daughter of his parents' new business partner who is sweet, pretty, and fond of Leonard immediately. Then there is Michelle (Gwyneth Paltrow), Leonard's neighbor who is charming, exciting, and beautiful, and quickly befriends him. He has feelings for both women, but Michelle moreso than Sandra. Leonard senses right away that his parents and Sandra's want them to be together, given both families' new partnership in the dry cleaning business. Though Leonard likes Sandra, he doesn't like his apparant fate being arranged for him, i.e. being goaded into marrying an ideal woman and walking in his parents' footsteps. Leonard is taken with Michelle because she is fun and good to him; she seems to have no hand in his destiny, nor does she try to. But Michelle is a not-so-recovering drug addict and is currently in love with a married man (Elias Koteas) who refuses to leave his family. Sandra is clearly better for Leonard and loves him, but he still pursues Michelle even though she is a wreck and in love with someone else.

This is not exactly a new concept, but it really hasn't gone so in depth or felt so real. James Gray's directing is haunting, and the script is very nuanced and intelligent. It seemed like something of a passion project. The film has a true sense of characters. It knows their behaviors and personalities inside and out, yet what they will do is still unpredictable in many ways. Yes, this is a film that had me not be able to guess where it was going. There is an obvious conclusion, but it is somewhat less obvious in this movie. In fact, it makes you really think about what has happened and what will happen. For a movie that has been done before, been done before wrong, and could have gone so wrong in so many ways itself, Two Lovers was just a brilliant film.

I gotta give props to the cinematography in this movie. Very dark, shadowy, and cold, almost like the character's thoughts and intentions (or not.) James Gray uses this kind of style in his last movie too, and it really sets the mood. So yeah, props to that real quick.

Now for my favorite part: the acting. All were tremendous, because as you know I rarely watch movies with bad acting. I am saving Joaquin Phoenix's appraisals for last, as there is much to talk about. But I will first regard the two women. Gwyneth Paltrow, a favorite actress of mine and perfect choice for the damaged beauty, is her usual compelling and likable self here. She does unlikable things, mind you, but she still comes off as very endearing. Michelle describes herself as "lost" in the film, and that's a pretty good definition of the character, which Paltrow conveys sincerely. She is a good person who can't seem to help but make the wrong decisions. I will also say that I think this is probably the first movie since Great Expectations in 1997 to address how freaking beautiful Gwyneth Paltrow is. Vinessa Shaw, who should be in more movies, does not have as much of an emotional element, but hers is still a good one. She plays her character as confident but with repressed doubts that can clearly be seen; she knows what she wants but doesn't see that Leonard has even bigger doubts. Mostly, we feel sorry for her as she continues to love this man, but is tragically oblivious to what he is doing. I think her character Sandra was supposed to simply be a truly good person. I was trying to find some flaw, something unappealing about her that made Leonard continue toward Michelle. I couldn't. The parents in the film were particularly interesting. This is mostly because I found them so damn believable. Moni Moshonov, who played a gentleman gangster in We Own the Night, has a lot of presence as Leonard's father. Isabella Rossellini plays a concerned and loving mother very well. They are both real people who, though they expect certain things from their son, are very kindhearted. Elias Koteas for his brief scenes is good as the suave married lover of Michelle, who isn't really using her or anything. He does love her, but he also loves his family. (I've gotta say it now or I never will: Elias Koteas looks and even acts a little like a young Robert De Niro. I dunno, it's just always seemed weird to me; he could be De Niro's son.)

Now for the big show. This is the last movie Joaquin Phoenix made before he embarked on that legendary act of a burned out, wannabe rapper version of himself for the mockumentary I'm Still Here. Phoenix shines here as Leonard, the central character. A part of me wanted to despise Leonard for leading one very sweet girl into thinking he loved her while constantly vying for the affections of a girl who is in love with someone else. I didn't though. The way Phoenix portrayed the character, Leonard seemed more like a child or, at most, an awkward teenager. He is very confused, doesn't know quite what he wants except love and freedom, is constantly trying to make everyone happy so they will leave him alone to find his own happiness. He returns Sandra's affections as if he didn't want to be rude to her, not so much because he felt the same way. He crushes on Michelle like a timid high school kid. He really is an emotional wreck, not confident about where his life seems to be drifting toward, and sees what is instant gratification as a way to start his own life. Leonard is one of those perfect characters who keeps you summoning different ideas about and emotions toward, as if he were a real person. Joaquin pulled him off splendidly. Yes, if this was his last role it would have been a damn fine one to go out on.

So, all in all, Two Lovers was a very powerful yet subtle movie that will provoke many thoughts. It's fascinating. Though I don't particularly like The Graduate, this movie reminded me of The Graduate a little bit. Some of these characters do seem like they would be at total peace if they were sitting at the bottom of a swimming pool. Of course it is not all drama and/or melodrama, there are funny moments too. This may actually be the first serious drama film to feature break dancing in a night club (which Joaquin partakes in, again, with childish abandon). This is a film that definitely deserves a viewing. I won't tell you to expect a happy ending or not to, just don't expect too much because, like I said, it is kind of unpredictable.

This has been, of course, another review from Your Modest Guru. Thanks for reading.