Feb 12, 2009 2:11 pm US/Eastern
'Two Lovers'
Christy Lemire, AP Movie Critic
LOS ANGELES (AP) ―
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If this truly is Joaquin Phoenix's last film -- if he really plans to walk away from an acclaimed, eclectic acting career that's included two Oscar nominations to become a rapper -- he's ending it all with a whimper rather than a bang.
AP
If this truly is Joaquin Phoenix's last film -- if he really plans to walk away from an acclaimed, eclectic acting career that's included two Oscar nominations to become a rapper -- he's ending it all with a whimper rather than a bang.
The romantic drama from director and co-writer James Gray, who previously directed Phoenix in "The Yards" and "We Own the Night," seems intentionally devoid of any sort of driving arc, of any bursts of life or great emotional epiphanies.
It's more like a somber, subtly observed series of moments which conclude with a resigned shrug. There seems to be a slightly percolating tension throughout that eventually gives way to ... not much of anything.
Having said that, Gray draws intense, believable performances from Phoenix and Gwyneth Paltrow as he shifts away from the crime dramas on which he's made his name. Phoenix stars as Leonard Kraditor, a bipolar thirtysomething who's back at home with his supportive Jewish parents (Moni Monoshov and Isabella Rossellini) in the Brighton Beach section of Brooklyn after a failed engagement inspired him to attempt suicide.
He works part time at his father's dry cleaners but has halfhearted aspirations to becoming a photographer. Around this time, two women come into his life: Sandra (Vinessa Shaw), the daughter of the family that's buying his father's business, and Michelle (Paltrow), who recently moved into an apartment upstairs.
Sandra is sweet and reliable, and she wants to take care of him; Michelle is a sexy and dangerous shiksa goddess who shares his appetite for self-destruction.
R for language, some sexuality and brief drug use. 108 min.
Two and a half stars out of four.
(© 2009 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)
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