« « Previous Post: The Green Jacket. | Next Post: Got Neti? » »

Swan Song?

Two Lovers

Starring: Joaquin Phoenix, Gwyneth Paltrow, Vanessa Shaw

Written by: James Gray and Ric Menello

Directed by: James Gray

I really hope this is not Joaquin Pheonix’s last movie. You all know by now the story. He’s lost it, and has decided to devote his time and energy to becoming a hip-hop star. Who knows if it’s true or not. I myself am choosing to believe that he is in the middle of some sort of art/character project the likes of which we haven’t seen since Andy Kaufman left this Earth. Maybe I’m just not ready to lose such a versatile and gifted actor. Should this be his last film, however, it is quite a remarkable note to go out on.

A man torn between two women. Does it get any more timeless than that? It’s a story we’ve seen thousands of times. And it never gets old. As our story begins, we see Leonard(Phoenix) walking down a peir carrying some dry cleaning bags. He seems to wander aimlessly for a bit, but then stops. He walks to the railing on the peir, looks out to the ocean, and calmly climbs over the side and jumps into the water. Moments pass. He looks as if he has no intention of resurfacing, but suddenly he does. If you were incredibly lazy, you could stop watching the movie there, as it is sort of the perfect metaphor for what is happening with this character, and we spend the entire film watching him find his way to the surface. Therein lies the drama. Therein lies the story.

Leonard is a good guy. But he’s got some problems. He lives with his parents. He works in their Laundromat. We find out, almost immediately, that he has tried to kill himself before, but we don’t find out exactly why until much later. He seems to be a man stuck in a place that he can’t get out of. Then it happens. He meets a girl. The lovely Sandra(Shaw) comes to a dinner his parents are having, and the two immediately hit it off. She is the good girl: brunette, sweet, attentive, loving, she wants to take care of Leonard. They hit it off and make plans. Not long after, Leonard meets his new neighbor, Michelle, who needs to hide out in his apartment for a few minutes. She is the bad girl: blonde, selfish, self-absorbed, drug-addled, clingy…he takes to her immediately. There you have it. One man. Two Women. Infinite Drama.

As per usual, I will avoid getting too deep into plot turns and details, you should find those out on your own. Needless to say, we spend the entire story trying to find out what Leonard will do, and who will Leonard will end up with. It is sort of a fascinating story to watch. Mainly because Leonard is such an interesting character to watch. We never know quite what is going on in that head of his, and Phoenix plays him in such a way that we almost always empathize with him, even when he is making the wrong decisions…maybe even because he makes several bad decisions. What makes this movie work is that the characters are so realistic. You will feel like you are watching people you know in private moments. In fact, you will probably cringe on a couple of occasions at how close to your own life some of this story feels. I know I did. But you can’t help but fall in love with these characters. All of them. None are bad people, and they don’t exactly do bad things to each other. They are just people trying to carve out a spot at the table of love.

James Gray is one gifted filmmaker. This is his fourth feature, after the splendid Little Odessa, the tricky The Yards, and last year’s criminally underseen gem We Own The Night. You won’t find a bad movie in the bunch. Gray has a sense of character and pacing that puts him miles ahead of most directors…I beg you to find a more intense five minutes of celluloid than the chase scene in We Own The Night. That sense of timing plays out incredibly effectively here in Two Lovers, and really that is what the movie is sort of about…timing. Everything and everyone seems just a little bit off in timing, except that they may all be right on. It’s a unique concept. Anyway, this is Gray’s third film with Phoenix, who seems to function as his muse. It’s rare that directors and actors pair up so many times, and you can see the progression in the three films these two have made together. Phoenix has grown and matured and come into his own under the watchful gaze of Gray who utilizes Phoenix’s gifts in ways that other filmmakers haven’t yet imagined, and it’s a bit scary to see how Gray will respond to the loss of his favorite collaborator. His The Lost City of Z should be one to watch next year.

Phoenix is nothing short of brilliant here. His every twitch and word are perfectly timed and executed here. You cannot tell where the man ends and the character begins. Indeed, I found myself marveling at the ease in which he subtly changes his character in the company of each of the women. He is two, but still one. He simultaneously knows exactly what he wants and has no idea what it is, or where to get it. His female counterparts are equally effective in their roles. Especially Paltrow, who is better here than she has been in a long time. The Role is similar to her part in The Royal Tennenbaums, but she finds new life in the part and manages to make us love and hate Michelle in equal quantity. What can you say about Vanessa Shaw? She has the role of the girl that you should want to marry…and that might not be much of a stretch for her. She’s come a long way since the film Ladybugs.

Two Lovers may not be blindingly original, but it is a spectacular piece of storytelling. Where it starts and where it ends are quite surprising in ways I didn’t expect, and I thoroughly enjoyed the ride getting there. While I do not enjoy begging, I implore all of you to go and see this little film. Stop putting money into pockets of people who make movies like Fast and Furious (72 million? Really? WTF?) and start rewarding filmmakers who care about little things like story, character, tone. Two Lovers is a very good film. And very rewarding to its viewers. And it may well be the last chance to watch one of America’s truly gifted actors at work. Don’t miss it.

While we’re on the subject…what the fuck is Joaquin Phoenix doing anyway? This guy has more talent in his pinky than most of the bigger name actors around. Why throw it away to chase a hip-hop dream? Have you heard some of his rhymes? It’s really quite lame. I sincerely hope this is some sort of Sasha Baron Cohen/Borat trick he is pulling…and if it is I want to congratulate him right now for being so blindly dedicated to the idea. If he really is following his heart and his dreams, then I wish him all the luck in the world. And in a couple of years, when he has burned through most of his assets chasing this dream, I will welcome him back to the screen with open arms. I really hope his is not gone that long, though. America is short on really talented actors at the moment. We can ill-afford to lose one of our best.

« « Previous Post: The Green Jacket. | Next Post: Got Neti? » »