trailer break: ‘Two Lovers’
Take a break from not working this wasted holiday week: watch a movie trailer...
Oh dear: here we go again. It’s the tale of a schlub who wants the gorgeous golden girl who’s way out of his league instead of the “ordinary” girl right in front of him. And he gets her! And he gets the other girl too!
Not that Joaquin Phoenix is a schlub, but it looks like he’s doing a pretty good imitation of one here. And I guess if Gwyneth Paltow is watching you in your bedroom, any guy would think that was pretty hot. Oops, and yeah, the dumb girl -- pretty, but dumb -- who’ll cling to a married man believing he might actually leave his wife one day probably would turn to the schlub. Just in a moment of weakness, of course. Because what gal is complete without a man?
I kid -- at least, I hope I kid -- because I’m expecting this to be a lot more than the standard nonsense, what with writer-director James Gray in charge. He made the astonishing and underrated We Own the Night in 2007, and The Yards a few years before than, both also with Phoenix. If only Phoenix hadn’t told us this was going to be his last film, I’d have said he and Gray were on their way to being the new Scorses and DeNiro. Oh well.
Two Lovers debuts on HDnet Ultra VOD in the U.S. on January 16, 2009, and opens theatrically in limited releases in the U.S. on February 13, and in the U.K. on February 27.
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comments
posted by Julie (Wed Jan 07 09, 9:39PM)
Since it's James Gray and Joaquin Phoenix I'm betting on a fairly realistically bittersweet romance(s). There is something to be said for the heartbreak over who do you choose: the one you love or the one that loves you--when they are not the same person. I think this pair is great together, neither seems interested in the easy way out, but rather they want to explore the human element to themes that are often botched or glossed over in other films. Plus, Phoenix's eyes convey more than what other actors can manage with pages of dialogue, he's stunning to watch in his films.
I was hoping for a wide release of this, did you hear otherwise?
posted by MaryAnn (Thu Jan 08 09, 11:04AM)
This is not going to get a wide release.
posted by Julie (Sat Jan 31 09, 7:21AM)
You're right, word is it will be limited, but hooray for small favors, it is available for purchase On Demand. I saw this film last week in my own living room and it's wonderful. James Gray really solidifies his talent as a filmmaker--I was a big fan of We Own the Night, and a lukewarm fan of The Yards--but this film really reveals what a great patience he has, this feels like a real story being told, not a snazzy, bright lights and big sounds affair, like a lot of movies seem. It's touching and genuine and Phoenix is remarkable. His looks bely this kind of character, he's so intense and stunning, gorgeous really, but his character is troubled and awkward, almost physically dorky but he manages great shifts--believable as he's playing a young man who is whispered to be bi-polar, though these issues aren't discussed much head-on. In one particularly outgoing night for him, he is effortlessly charming and sexy, in others he's heartbreaking and desperate.
I can't be the only one who's seeing more crocodile tears in Hollywood films these days than I'd think possible, but there's something about Phoenix; when he cries, it just gets you. This is also Gwyneth Paltrow's best work in a long time, perhaps one of her best performances ever, and Isabella Rossellini and Moni Moshoniv (think I butchered that last name just a touch) are perfectly cast as Phoenix's parents.
Phoenix and Gray really are such a great team, I think Gray's work as a filmmaker has only blossomed since teaming up with Phoenix, and I'm sure one has enhanced the other. Phoenix seems at home in these characters that Gray grounds with real complexity and emotional depth. It's a shame their pairings don't get larger audiences, but this is a mature, very affecting film that Hollywood (or other powers that be) probably didn't know what to do with.
However, we do have another Friday the 13th movie to look forward to, right?