TWO LOVERS--BRIGHTON BEACH FEMME WARS
Written: Mar 08 '09 (Updated Mar 08 '09)
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Product Rating:
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| Bang For The Buck |
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Pros: Great acting by all participants, especially Joaquin Phoenix; compelling story simply told; character driven
Cons: Maybe too simplistic; quite predictable
The Bottom Line: Do yourself a favor and treat yourself to James Gray's TWO LOVERS, which future generations will remember as the last film Joaquin Pheonix starred in before he lost the plot
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| jarvococker's Full Review: Two Lovers |
James Gray's new film TWO LOVERS is a marvel of a film that engages audiences while expressing nothing particularly new or fascinating. And yet this exquisitely acted character drama about a remorse young man shuffling through a romantic fog is quietly absorbing and, in the unadorned, understated confidence of it's telling, a compelling study of bruised hearts in search of mending.
Written by Gray and Ric Menello, TWO LOVERS is set in the Brighton Beach section of Brooklyn. Leonard Kraditor (Joaquin Phoenix), still nursing the physical and emotional wounds from a broken engagement, has moved back in with his parents (Isabella Rossellini and Moni Moshonov) and listlessly tolls at his father's dry cleaning shop. "I don't know what it's even like to be myself sometimes," he wearily states at one point. Mindful of Leonard's fragile state, his parents set him up with the attractive daughter (Vinessa Shaw) of an associate who wants to buy the family business.
Sandra is appealling enough, but Leonard soon develops a rapport with Michelle (Gwyneth Paltrow), a new tenant at his parents' apartment complex. Michelle is beautiful but, like Leonard, an emotional loose cannon. Caught up in a futile affair with a married man (Elias Koteas) with a son, Michelle seems an ideal companion in heartsick vulnerability. Leonard is instantly smitten, at the expense of Sandra's more reserved devotion. The rest of TWO LOVERS explores Leonard's internal dilemma in resolving who he wants to be with, and in so doing taking the first step in beginning the rest of his life.
The release of TWO LOVERS was overshadowed by the kind of publicity a film like this doesn't deserve. Joaquin Pheonix's decision to retire from acting--whether serious or not--to embark on a rap career and his embarrassing and instantly lampooned appearance on David Letterman. Which is a shame for two reasons. First, TWO LOVERS is strong enough on its own tender merits to warrant such garish attention. Second and most important, to see Phoenix's spectacularly sensitive portrayal as Leonard is to witness a wonderfully gifted and underrated character actor at the top of his game. Here is a portrait of a man at a critical emotional impasse, and Phoenix, mumbling and hesitant to speak what he really feels, is charmingly goofy (Check out his moves on the dance floor) and vividly, emotionally naked (Declaring his love for Michelle). If this truly is the final thespian hurrah for Phoenix, than it's a genuine loss for motion picture audiences.
Gwyneth Paltrow more than matches Phoenix's depiction of neurotic heartache in her stellar supporting performance as Michelle. Channelling an emotional rawness that's rarely afforded the superstar, Paltrow is sensational. Having said that, it must be noted that the third act discovery that Leonard's feelings for Michelle are misguided hardly comes as a surprise. Regardless, a rooftop liason with Leonard in an overcast, wintery gloom captures Paltrow in an almost ethereal beauty. Ever the consummate actress, the dour atmosphere perfectly compliments Michelle's anxiety ridden makeup.
Vinessa Shaw is terrific in her own right in the tricky role of Sandra. Not as fiery as Paltrow's Michelle but no less lovely, what Sandra lacks in dramatic complexity she more than makes up for in plain, steadfast dedication, and Shaw herself never wavers. It's often cruel how casually Leonard neglects her character, which often begs the question what Sandra actually sees in him. The fact that Sandra's character feels underwritten is another flaw in an otherwise appealing film.
The other supporting performances are all equally fine, but Isabella Rossellini deserves special mention in her elegant (And often amusing) portrait of maternal concern.
James Gray's directing often feels invisible, the camera almost detached from the proceedings taking place. In this regard TWO LOVERS recalls Hal Ashby's unpretentious style of directing. The choice feels logical, as if Gray didn't want to encroach on his actors' enormous contributions to the film with stylistic distractions. And yet there's room for Gray to offer impressive images of stark, emotional dislocation. The haunting opening shot of Leonard walking alone on a pier instantly denotes a man with a heavy weight on his shoulders. And yet one can't help but curiously wonder why Gray decided to tell the story of one Leonard Kraditor. As involving as the performances and feelings depicted are, there's nothing in this screen triangle that couldn't have been handled more efficiently by Woody Allen before he went all European. TWO LOVERS can even justifiably be criticized as simplistic and predictable. Whatever. TWO LOVERS is mainly an emotionally rich and refreshing, character dominated study of the torment and reward in having the courage to open your heart to someone after its been shattered.
Recommended:
Yes
Movie Mood: Serious Movie
Film Completeness: Looked complete to me.
Worst Part of this Film: Nothing
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jarvococker
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Member: marcelo deugarte
Location: bethesda, md
Reviews written: 299
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And the hand that rocks you cuts you up like lyrics of your life.
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