Two Lovers (2008)

User Rating:

7.3/10   

Director:

James Gray

Writers (WGA):

James Gray (written by) &
Ric Menello (written by)

Release Date:

19 marraskuu 2008 (France)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Tagline:

Sometimes we leave everything to find ourselves.

Plot:

A Brooklyn-set romantic drama about a bachelor (Phoenix) torn between the family friend his parents wish he would marry and his beautiful but volatile new neighbor.

Plot Keywords:

Married Man | Jewish | Love | Hiding | Jewish Mother

Awards:

3 nominations

Cast

Joaquin Phoenix	...	Leonard Kraditor
Gwyneth Paltrow	...	Michelle Rausch
Vinessa Shaw	...	Sandra Cohen
Moni Moshonov	...	Reuben Kraditor
Isabella Rossellini	...	Ruth Kraditor
John Ortiz	...	Jose Cordero
Bob Ari	...	Michael Cohen
Julie Budd	...	Carol Cohen
Elias Koteas	...	Ronald Blatt
Shiran Nicholson	...	DJ Juice
rest of cast listed alphabetically:
David Cale	...	Jeweler
Kathryn Gerhardt	...	New Year's Eve Party Guest #3
Nick Gillie	...	Livery Driver
Carmen M. Herlihy
Samantha Ivers	...	Stephanie
Anne Joyce	...	Leonard's ex-fiance
Mari Koda	...	Popping Dancer
RJ Konner	...	Upscale Opera Guest
Evan Lewis	...	Uncle
Marion McCorry	...	Nurse
David Ross	...	Waiter
Jeanine Serralles	...	Dayna
Jose Edwin Soto
Uzimann	...	Cab Driver
Elliot Villar	...	Bystander
Mark Vincent	...	Ronald's driver
Craig Walker

MPAA:

Rated R for language, some sexuality and brief drug use.

Runtime:

110 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

SDDS | Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

USA:R | France:U | Ireland:15A | Netherlands:12 | UK:15 | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:M18 | New Zealand:M

Filming Locations:

Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

2929 Productions

Trivia:

The role of Michelle was written with Gwyneth Paltrow in mind.

Movie Connections:

References 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968)

Soundtrack:

O Lola ch'ai di latti di cammisa

Gray's coming of age - very solid work

I liked this fourth film of James Gray very much. It is interesting, nuanced, well photographed and directed. The casting is very fitting: Joaquin Phoenix, Gwyneth Paltrow and Isabella Rossellini require no introduction - every film where they appeared was a kind of success.

I liked the story line precisely for the reasons some of the critics did not - inconclusiveness of the situation. The narrative should not be treated as a moral tale with prescribed behavior and a suggestion to act certain way. For some of us, who lived and experienced, life situations have no clear conclusions, especially in the matter concerning personal relationships. And so we are shown various geometrical configurations of relationships between people: A loves B, B loves C, C loves D; D perhaps does not love anyone; C can not settle for B and returns to D when D calls; B settles for A. Who's right and who's wrong? Luckily this is not all there is about this film. There are interesting shots, exotic locations (Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, NY), very good acting.

Some reviewers complained that the narrative is too predictable - perhaps. I personally would prefer more broader metaphor, perhaps more connection with social dimension, more resonance between personal and social. Oh well, I hope this is coming in the next Gray's films.