By Kim Voynar Voynar@moviecitynews.com
Two Lovers
Amidst all the hoopla over Joaquin Phoenix’s bizarre Letterman appearance, I’d like to take a moment to talk about something nicer: the movie Phoenix is ostensibly doing interviews to promote, James Gray’s Two Lovers. I saw Two Lovers back at Cannes, and it was one of my favorites of the fest.
It’s a beautiful, thoughtful film, well acted by Phoenix and the two women he has to choose from: Gwyneth Paltrow as the blonde, lovely shikseh to Leonard’s neurotic Jew and Vinessa Shaw as the plainer, nice Jewish girl whose father wants to broker a business deal with Leonard’s dad. Isabella Rosellini has a heart-wrending turn as Leonard’s mom, the one person who both understands her son and encourages him to pursue the path that will make him happy.
Phoenix is at his best as the tormented Leonard, who has to make a choice between two lovers and the two paths each choice would lead him down while Gray deftly manuveurs the ups and downs of Leonard’s manic-depressive personality as he pursues relationships with both Sandra and Michelle.
Two Lovers is a great Valentine’s date film, especially if you and your mate or date are sick of romantic comedies. Grey’s film is insightful and smar. Michelle (Paltrow) is edgy and fun, and when he’s with her, Leonard lets lose his inner wild side in a way we never see in any other aspect of his life; his moments with Michelle he’s living life in technicolor, and the rest of his life is shades of grey. Sandra (Shaw)reflects the pull Leonard feels to live an ordinary life, in particular, to live a life where he’s not teetering on the edge of falling apart.
And Leonard is falling apart, following the loss of the woman he loved and was engaged to marry, when they both tested positive for the gene that causes Tay Sachs syndrome. He’s a fractured man, and the two women who come into his life, the choices he makes, and the experiences he has with each of them, ultimately shape the path he goes down.
Phoenix’s performance is so good, it makes you feel both sad and intrigued about whatever the hell path he’s on right now, be it performance art, or an elaborate hoax, or a tragic unraveling of a talented actor. I loved him in this film. If everyone who’s watched the Letterman thing on YouTube would go out and see Phoenix in Two Lovers this weekend, the film would make some serious bank.