Movie Review: Two Lovers
James Gray Film Stars Joaquin Phoenix, Gwyneth Paltrow, Vinessa Shaw
Apr 10, 2009 Dominic von Riedemann
In his new film, Two Lovers, director James Gray (We Own the Night, The Yards) crafts a moody character drama that depicts the battle between head and heart, showing the ways that temptation and desire can make us choose paths that might not be in our best interests.
Very loosely based on Feodor Dostoevsky's short story "White Nights," Gray transplants that tale of desire and longing to Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, using top-shelf actors like Joaquin Phoenix, Gwyneth Paltrow and Elias Koteas to bring his vision to life. However, some weaknesses in the script results in the flick not quite achieving its goals.
Two Lovers Stars Joaquin Phoenix, Gwyneth Paltrow, Isabella Rosselini
Fragile Leonard Kraditor (Phoenix) is slowly putting things back together after his marriage plans, and his very life, suddenly disintegrated. He works in his father's dry cleaners while his parents (Isabella Rosselini and Moni Moshonov) watch him carefully, wondering if Leonard will once again try to kill himself (he has scars on his wrist from a previous attempt).
His parents set him up with Sandra (Vinessa Shaw), the daughter of his dad's future business partner. Gentle and loving, Sandra appears to be the perfect girl to heal Leonard's shattered heart.
"I know what happened to you before," she says in one sequence. "And I want to take care of you."
But Leonard also has an eye for Michelle (Paltrow), an upstairs neighbor who's not only having an affair with her married co-worker (Koteas) but is trying not to slide back into drug addiction. Despite drifting into a relationship with Sandra, he pines for the beautiful, damaged woman whose myriad tragedies mirror his own.
The cast is first-rate. Whatever may or may not be occurring in his personal life, Joaquin Phoenix is an actor's actor, capable of conveying his character's emotional journey without even saying a word. Paltrow, following up her turn as Pepper Potts in last summer's Iron Man, shows once again why she is one of this generation's most gifted actresses. She nails the part of a character who is screwed up enough to light up any potential lover's "crazy" meter but charismatic enough that the would-be lover is willing to be burned.
Shaw does what she can with her part of the stereotypical "good girl," but her role feels underwritten and not terribly compelling. It's like Gray and co-writer Ric Menello can accurately convey dysfunction on screen, but have problems writing for a well-adjusted person.
Yes, the script tells us that Sandra is the safe choice for Leonard, but is she the right choice? She's passive in their relationship, letting Leonard treat her as a doormat instead of being someone who Leonard can respect and cherish as an equal. She comes off as a second-best, a safe alternative: is that what anyone really wants for a life partner?
The Final Analysis
Two Lovers raises more questions than it can adequately answer. The notion of being caught between two possible partners, and the heart's battle between security and desire, is a compelling one. And director Gray has assembled a stellar cast to drive this story forward.
However, the fact that Sandra's character feels underwritten means the love triangle Gray assembles doesn't quite have the necessary cohesion to make it truly compelling. In the final act, Leonard doesn't seem to be making his choices, rather that the choices are being made for him: the Amazing Coincidental Machine™ works to ensure that the denouement happens the way Gray (or perhaps, a film executive) wants it to go.
Two Lovers is a film with a lot of potential, but it doesn't quite achieve its goals. It gets a 6/10.
a scene from Two Lovers
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