DVDs in Review

Two Lovers

Title: Two Lovers (2008)

Release date: August 10 2009

Certificate: 15

Format: Reviewed on DVD, available on Blu-ray

DVD RRP: £15.99

Rating: 4/5

While 'Two Lovers' may be remembered as the last film that Joaquin Phoenix starred in before he grew a beard and embarked on a rap music career punctuated by bizarre public interviews, this film is actually a very effective, if small scale, vehicle for his (hopefully temporary) swansong.

Directed by James Grey (who previously guided him in the excellent crime thriller 'We Own the Night' and the claustrophobic drama 'The Yards'), 'Two Lovers' moves away from his trademark crime genre, opting for a Brooklyn-based melodramatic, psychological relationship drama instead. In an odd way it's like 'Blue Velvet' mixed with 'Breakfast at Tiffany's'. 

Phoenix stars as Leonard, a man who has just attempted suicide again. Coming home drenched, his parents (played with restraint by Moni Moshonov and Isabella Rossellini) decide to try and hitch him up with the daughter of a local businessman who happens to be interested in buying the family laundrette store.

She - Sanda (Vinessa Shaw) - is interested and nice, with her head firmly on her shoulders. She represents stability; something which Leonard lacks, as he is still insecurely attached to his ex-fiancé who left years ago. Sandra wants to comfort him, guide him and care for him. While Leonard is hesitant at first, he warms to this idea and a cautious romance begins to blossom.

But then he meets the troubled Michelle (Gwyneth Paltrow) and finds reassurance in her increasingly fragile and unpredictable persona. She is damaged goods and Leonard can definitely relate to that, so he begins an affair with her as well - a relationship that soon begins to spiral out of control.

This is all very intriguing and dark but the main problem with 'Two Lovers' is that Leonard is so enclosed yet, out of nowhere, he finds himself juggling two beautiful women who shouldn't really have anything to do with him. Leonard seems to go from a recluse obsessed with the ghost of a departed woman to a tomcat on the prowl.    

Aside from that flaw in the script, 'Two Lovers' remains consistently engaging. It's downbeat, not a lot happens and its resolution may not satisfy some viewers but Leonard is an intriguing character. We get to see his complete character arc, and interestingly we get to see him be bewildered by his own actions.

'Two Lovers' is primal, moving by its own accord in an animalistic fashion, but under James Grey's assured direction it never pounces - it prowls.