Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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7 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Bittersweet, August 9, 2009
Leonard Kraditor (Joaquin Phoenix) struggles with depression after his fiance leaves him. The movie opens with Leonard attempting suicide. That night he meets Sandra (Vanessa Shaw)-a sweet, affable, loving girl. A short time later he runs into MIchelle (Gwyneth Paltrow)-a drug addled, promiscuous, party girl who loves a married man. Sandra wants to take care of Leonard and Leonard wants to take care of Michelle.
In his relationship with Michelle, Leonard is the strong one, the good one. In his relationship with Sandra, he continues to be the weak man from his past-the guy that needs gentle understanding. It's no wonder he pines for Michelle even though she's going to lead him down the path of self destruction. But every lover wants the chase.
I loved this movie and am frankly surprised by the bad reviews. Two Lovers may be subtle and a bit slow for some, but I found it nuanced and charming. At times in my life I've been the sunny party girl in love with the wrong man, the depressed lover pining for a an ex, and the sweet affable girl who could utter such lines as "if you don't want me, it's ok. I mean a lot of guys don't want me." Everyone should find at least one character in this film they can relate to. Highly recommended.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
A remarkable performance!, July 15, 2009
"Two Lovers"
(Magnolia Films, 2009)
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Joaquin Phoenix turns in a stunning, multi-layered performance as Leonard, a faltering, shaken young man whose life has been upended by a jilted marriage engagement and a psychiatric diagnosis (that remains fuzzily-defined for the film's viewers...) Leonard has come back home to live with his benign, elderly parents in the predominantly Jewish neighborhood of Brighton Beach, and from this position of infantilization and defeat, he starts to mend his life.
When romance comes into his life, through two women -- one wild and forbidden, the other nurturing and safe -- the complexity of Leonard's character comes into view. One might expect such a damaged man to seek the comfort of the safe lover, the future wife who will replace the fiance who deserted him, but instead he is drawn to the mystery of his wild new neighbor, played by Gwyneth Paltrow. (One remarkable twist in this film is how we as viewers find ourselves pushed away from the ever-attractive Ms. Paltrow: her character exudes danger and chaos: run away! we want to yell as Leonard becomes more and more infatuated with her...)
Phoenix's performance continually defies our expectations. His Leonard doesn't reveal itself in the simplistic, cookie-cutter vocabulary of most modern filmmaking, be it mainstream or indie; there are parts of his personality that remain elusive and that don't make sense, and even his ultimate decision about what to do with his life is difficult to gauge. Did he make a "good" decision? Will it last? Does he heal? We simply do not know. All we know is what we can see, and in this case, what we see is a fine film with an unusually rich, mature psychological complexity. Definitely worth checking out. (Joe Sixpack, Slipcue film review blog)
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13 of 18 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
There is Much to Love About Two Lovers., February 16, 2009
I saw this gem of a film at the 2008 Denver Film Festival. It was a hit in France long before it was released here in the States. Directed by James Gray (The Yards; We Own the Night), and based loosely on Dostoevsky's novella, "White Nights", Two Lovers tells the emotionally powerful story of Leonard Kraditor (Joaquin Phoenix) who, while engaged to a nice Jewish girl, Sandra Cohen (Vinessa Shaw), falls for his Brooklyn neighbor, Michelle Rausch (Gwyneth Paltrow). Leonard lives with his Jewish parents (played by Isabella Rossellini and Moni Moshonov), who are concerned about their son's depression and suicidal tendencies. Michelle is involved with a married partner in her law firm. Both are deeply vulnerable characters, plagued with very real emotional issues.
James Gray knows his cinema. He has acknowledged an influence from 1950s Italian films in Two Lovers. "Certainly," he admits, "the ending on the beach is totally ripped off from La Strada . . . and I stole quite liberally from the Visconti movie Le Notti Bianche (White Nights)." With Two Lovers, Gray has once again delivered a rare Hollywood film that continues to earn him praise in France, while American audiences stand in line for easily-forgettable Hollywood romances like He's Just Not That Into You. Two Lovers is poignant, emotionally mature, intelligent, well-made, well-crafted, and well-acted. Gray is known for his talent in bringing authenticity and deeply-affecting emotionality to his work. In this film, Gray raises the question, should Leonard pursue the one he loves or the one who loves him. While Phoenix and Paltrow carry the film with their radiant performances as two frustrated lovers, this is ultimately Phoenix's film. His collaboration with Gray and Paltrow results in the most poignant performance of his career. Highly recommended.
G. Merritt
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