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Brooklyn's Finest: 'Two Lovers' is Contemporary New York Noir Done Right
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Set on Brighton Beach's foggy, urban waterfront, writer/director James Gray's latest venture is modern, operatic noir that, despite heightened drama and one uncomfortably implausible love scene on a freezing rooftop, feels very much like the truth.
Brooding Leonard (Joaquin Phoenix) moves back in with his folks after a break up and subsequent breakdown. To boost his spirits, his parents - impeccably portrayed by Isabella Rossellini and Moni Moshonov - encourage him to date Sandra (Vinessa Shaw), the beautiful and kindhearted daughter of family friends. Though he and Sandra certainly hit it off, Leonard cannot get a chance meeting with his mysterious, new neighbor, Michelle (Gwenyth Paltrow), out of his head. As a result, Leonard is compelled to pursue both women simultaneously. Pressure from his and Sandra's family to marry mounts, as does his attraction to the wily, irresistibly unstable Michelle, until Leonard is forced to make a decision that will dramatically effect the quality of his life.
While I found Gwenyth Paltrow not quite right for her sexy, wild role - she's unfortunately too maternal, too upper-crust for drug-addled, party girl Michelle - Gray (and co-writer Ric Menello) manage to construct a simple yet intricate emotional dilemma that feels remarkably true to life. In the end, having been tossed from blind passion to cherished warmth, from acute frustration to suffocating duty, we find that the most important choices are rarely clear, and the best we can do is commit to them, in all their glory and ugliness.
