Two Lovers (2009)
Directed by James Gray
Written by James Gray
Starring Joaquin Phoenix, Gwyneth Paltrow, Vinessa Shaw, Elias Koteas
Release Date February 16th, 2009
Published May 12th, 2009
Ever since Joaquin Phoenix's meltdown earlier this year on David Letterman and then subsequent you-tube videos, I have been dreading his movie Two Lovers. It was unfair of me to feel that way about the movie. However, it was equally unfair of ....Phoenix.... to burden the film with his antics.
Now, I have seen the film and I feel as if I owe all involved an apology. Two Lovers is a quiet, observant and human drama about a lost soul and the people so willing to find him if he'll let them.
Joaquin Phoenix is Leonard in Two Lovers. When we meet him he is attempting suicide and not for the first time. He survives a plunge into ..Hudson Bay.., thanks to several bystanders but refuses medical care, preferring to wander home in the cold. Leonard is living with his parents, Reuben and Ruth (Moni Moshonov and Isabella Rossellini), and they've been witnessing his behavior ever since his engagement fell apart.
Whiling away the days snapping black and white photos and working at his family dry cleaning business, Leonard's life is changed after meeting two very different women. Sandra (Vinessa Shaw) is the daughter of Leonard's dad's new business partner. Their parents would love for them to get together, as they are soon to merge their businesses.
It's not an arranged marriage however; Sandra is really attracted to Leonard, even to his obvious damage. The other woman who enters Leonard's life is Michele (Gwyneth Paltrow). Michele lives across the courtyard in their shared apartment building. One day as she is seeking a hiding place from an overbearing admirer, she happens upon Leonard and takes advantage of his kindness. He is smitten at first sight but she is clearly, to us, a beautiful blonde fantasy.
Director James Gray reveals his story at a leisurely pace allowing us to observe Leonard and overcome our reservations about his mental state. 2009 has been flush with male performances that are more creepy than quirky and we fear right away that Leonard is just the latest creep. As the story evolves however, Leonard becomes a slightly odd fellow but endearing.
By the end you are rooting for him in ways you never imagined at the beginning. That we can still root for him as he pines for Michele and spends time with Sandra is something quite remarkable. Characters who vacillate as Leonard does can grow tiresome but there is something in the almost childlike, innocent way that Leonard pines that allows us to forgive him.
Some have argued that having one man compete for the affection of Vinessa Shaw and Gwyneth Paltrow is a little far-fetched. Those are people judging Gwyneth Paltrow and not her nuanced and troubled performance. Paltrow's Michele is supposed to be a figure of fantasy and she exists that way throughout. The reality of someone like Michele is far more interesting and well explored in Two Lovers.
Michele is like a virus that infects Leonard, one he cannot shake. She uses him, humiliates him, dashes his hopes and he comes back for more because he simply cannot help it. The fantasy of Michele is so alluring that in the final act even we begin to buy in.
Sandra is not as well fleshed out but that isn't such a bad thing. Vinessa Shaw gives her enough presence and warmth that she is never the girl Leonard might settle for but the one he may or may not really love. She's viable and real and her love for Leonard is as honest as his for Michele.
Two Lovers truly succeeds in its final moments where director Gray and co-writer Ric Menello find just right note of surprising elegance to end on. Two Lovers is moving and cathartic for anyone who has longed for a fantasy at the ignorance of reality. An extraordinary, honest, human drama, Two Lovers is among the best of the year.
