Review of Two Lovers (1928) by Chris T — 16 Feb 2010

This was nice. Very nice but in a very dark way. Grey atmosphere really caught my eye in this one and it's somewhat mesmerizing. Gloomy skies and rainy streets can really tell you a lot about Two Lovers. I was expecting a bit more positive story but I must say I was pleasantly surprised by this dark but very inspiring piece of work.

Two Lovers tells a story about a guy named Leonard in his early thirties. An unhappy man still living with his middle-class parents, working for his father's small company and still single, with his fiancee abandoning him some time ago. He meets a girl named Sandra that is interested in him but he takes interest in his neighbour, pretty blonde named Michelle. His love life starts to get more complicated as he starts a relationship with Sandra, but is more involved in life of Michelle.

This is a pretty ordinary story that you must have encountered a few times but it still finds plenty to tell you about real life and different paths of one's heart. The dark undertone seperates it from most of the other similar stories. I had a lot of stuff going on in my mind during Two Lovers. I felt sorry for Leonard and absolutely justifed his actions even knowing they were wrong and they could never end up well. That is the essence of movies like this, feeling something for the characters and comparing your own life and similar stuff from it.

Joaquin Phoenix was great here. Perfectly average kind of guy, one you see in the street every day. He portrayed perfectly how his life did not go easy on him and how fragile, insecure and random his actions are. Gwyneth Paltrow was the same as always. Her face just rarely tells you anything different than what you have already seen in her previous films. She's pretty and is maybe a bit darker by behaviour than usually but nothing special. Oh, wait, there was something special: seeing her taking one boob out. I was like, wow. Haha.

Maybe a bit too serious and gloomy, Two Lovers will not satisfy all of the viewers but I still think the majority will see it as fresh. Joaquin is impressive here and the film makes you raise a few serious life questions and draw comparisons to your own actions in life so...Go see it, rent it, buy it, netflix it, cause I've enjoyed and you just might too.