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Joaquin Phoenix, Gwyneth Paltrow, Vinessa Shaw, Isabella Rossellini, Elias Koteas ... see more see more... , Moni Moshonov , John Ortiz , Bob Ari , Julie Budd

A depressed young man moves back in with his parents and finds his life turned upside down as he struggles to choose between the beautiful daughter of a close family friend and the scintillating but v... read more read more...olatile next-door neighbor whose passion helps to reignite his lust for life. The third screen outing for writer/director James Gray and actor Joaquin Phoenix following We Own the Night and The Yards, Two Lovers co-stars Gwyneth Paltrow, Isabella Rossellini, and Vinessa Shaw. ~ Jason Buchanan, Rovi

Flixster Users

54% liked it

54,616 ratings

Critics

82% liked it

158 critics

R, 1 hr. 40 min.

Directed by: James Gray

Release Date: May 19, 2008

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DVD Release Date: June 30, 2009

Stats: 2,227 reviews

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Flixster Reviews (2,227)

  • jennifxu
    May 2, 2011
    jennifxu
    A very schizophrenic movie. As in, I loved the parts with Gwyneth Paltrow, hated the parts with that other chick.
  • paulsandberg
    October 16, 2010
    paulsandberg
    examines what love is, or more precisely, what we THINK love is.

    Two Lovers features Juaquin Phoenix as a damaged soul (now there's a stretch, based on what has happened to him since this film) who, while barely coping with life (he was dealt a raw deal concerning his former f... read moreiance)meets up with two diametrically opposed women; one, who his Jewish family is pushing on him, wants to protect and "cure" him, while the other, in a daring performance by Gwyneth Paltrow, is just as damaged and even more needy than Phoenix.

    The story ark is familiar, and yet it works well here, due to Phoenix's odd and somehow detached performance; charming one moment and yet a ghost of a man who lives with his parents in others.

    The scenes with Paltrow and Phoenix together, especially those that take place on the building's roof, shot as though you are an easdropper, with walls in the way as the charactors move about, are sizzling. The cinematography throughout is wonderful and moody, with nice lighting touches as when Phoenix and Paltrow converse from their rooms across an alleyway.

    The ending scenes holds enough suspense that, even if you seriously suspect what's coming, the way in which it is presented will satisfy you.

    Now some may find the resolution of the film disquieting (I know I did), but really, it fits the charactor, and is honest to the film and all that has come before, however distasteful you might find it. Again, what is love? Is it mutual need? Perhaps. This film certainly let's you ponder the conundrum.
  • deano
    July 29, 2010
    deano
    Joaquin Phoenix's performance is superb in this drama film. There is something profoundly moving and profoundly truthful here and I'm sure it has to do with Phoenix's portrayal. Gwyneth Paltrow is wonderful as the girl walking an emotional tightrope. And Vinessa Shaw is a real fi... read morend. I was also moved by Isabella Rossellini as Joaquin's mother! Beautiful and intense but unlike many of her contemporaries not "cosmetic" A real extraordinary face. In fact she looks more like her mother Ingrid Bergman now than she ever did.
  • blacksheepboy
    April 19, 2010
    blacksheepboy
    This deeply involving romantic drama is a fascinating character study crafted with sophisticated direction, and it presents great performances and a wonderful melancholic story that grabbed me completely from the very first minute to the last.
  • barrys
    December 29, 2009
    barrys
    Two Lovers is A Brooklyn-set romantic drama about a bachelor (Phoenix) torn between the family friend his parents wish he would marry and his beautiful but volatile new neighbor. It is a movie about how love sometimes make you feel miserable. The movie is really interesting, you ... read morecan feel the tension and the anxiety from the character performed by Joaquin Phoenix. It follows a slow pace rhythm but it never falls into boredom. The locations are really good because they shew you a New York that not everybody knows. The cast is wonderful Joaquin Phoenix is excellent, he delivers a very credible performance, Gwyneth Paltrow is awesome, this role fits her really good, Isabella Rosellini as Phoenix mother is delightful and Vinessa Shaw as Sandra is also great. In conclusion, Two Lovers is a movie worthy of a chance to see.
  • bbcfloridabound
    December 24, 2009
    bbcfloridabound
    Outstanding Movie, Joaquin Phoenix plays part of a Bachelor who is recovering from a suicide attempt after his fiancée ran off before his wedding, so he lives at home with his Mom and Dad, Depression is a major part of his life until he finds a friend in a business partner of his... read more Dad's and then a person living in the apartment across from him comes into the picture, so now he is torn between two lovers, The one he want's and the one that want's him. Excellent story, but you will have to watch to see who he chooses. 5 Stars
  • fb619846742
    December 18, 2009
    fb619846742
    An involving, touching romantic drama that effectively captures the pain, guilt, and sorrow some people hold in their past and how it affects their present-day life. Phoenix, as always, is terrific in a story that is centered around him, as his love for one girl (Gwyneth Paltrow)... read more forces him to stray away from a realistic and promising future with another (Vinessa Shaw). Emotionally heavy, with an unpredictable ending that I for one didn't see coming. Hopefully this isn't Joaquin's last movie, this film alone shows that he is a tremendous actor.
  • LoughnerWasLucid
    November 23, 2009
    LoughnerWasLucid
    what a beautiful surprising movie. Joaquin is amazing. i heard a rumor that hes retiring or something and that would really suck. Gwyneth Paltrow is really good like she usually is and Elias Koteas is one of the best supporting actors around, yet he is almost like the invisible m... read morean to the public. Vinessa Shaw gets hotter every year. ok back to the movie though. Joaquin plays an awkward reclusive i want to say autistic man but i dont know. maybe hes autistic in real life, in which case im an asshole for saying that. this is one of the most realistic lovestories ive seen in a while. it plays like life. the writers didnt sit down and say "what ironic quirky line could he say here" its not trying to impress with over-the-top indie-ness. it just tries to be a good film.
  • adammahler1
    November 12, 2009
    adammahler1
    Both leads mix good and bad acting; the script takes shortcuts and Phoenix and each girl have sex before really laying the groundwork for making a move.

    With the melodrama, pregnant silences and facial angst, it's kind of like a James Mangold film but quickly written and less p... read moreonderous. Whatever the cast and filmmakers try, the attempt feel sincere even if it fails, so that any 3 minutes of film seem careful and unpretentious. The director subtly mixes placid, classical storytelling with some unshowy New-Wavish street shots. And he plays with comic setups for meaningful commentary on the characters.

    The movie's most believable aspect is its philosophic one, which comes out of interactions between the characters that are entirely believable. Each main character falls in love based on their sense of their weaknesses, of what would give their life new and complete meaning and strength, make them born again. And it's also a story of what it means to grow up, of a character in suspended adolescence having to surrender the self's amorphous dreams to the world that expects you. Maybe it's the tragic twin of Elaine May's Heartbreak Kid.
  • xXGiNoBiLiPRXx
    November 3, 2009
    xXGiNoBiLiPRXx
    Pretty good movie. Very good acting from Joaquin Phoenix.

    Leonard Kraditor is a burned-out case, living with his immigrant parents after his fiancée left him, helping out at their Brooklyn dry cleaners, taking photographs, at loose ends, suicidal. In quick succession, he meets t... read morewo women: Sarah, the daughter of his parents' business associates, frank, direct, sensual, Jewish like Leonard; and, his neighbor Michelle, mercurial, rootless, fun, blond, unattainable. Michelle is in love with a married man and cries on Leonard's shoulder; Sarah wants to save him. Is Leonard willing to risk losing Sarah's fidelity for the moments Michelle's moods swing toward him? Can this end well?

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Critic Reviews

Rick Groen
April 10, 2009
Rick Groen, Globe and Mail

Phoenix plays that schism -- the damaged soul in a hunky body -- to perfection, so well that we overlook the logical chasm at the centre of the tale. Full Review

Peter Howell
April 10, 2009
Peter Howell, Toronto Star

Gray guides his strong cast to a resolution that is both surprising and entirely realistic. Full Review

Ann Hornaday
March 13, 2009
Ann Hornaday, Washington Post

If Two Lovers winds up being Phoenix's last movie, at least it offers posterity incontrovertible proof that, once, he was a contender. Full Review

Bill Goodykoontz
March 5, 2009
Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic

What elevates Two Lovers beyond the mundane is the strength of the performances. Full Review

Roger Moore
March 4, 2009
Roger Moore, Orlando Sentinel

Phoenix's performance overwhelms the slight story. Full Review

Mick LaSalle
February 27, 2009
Mick LaSalle, San Francisco Chronicle

Very little is explicit. The audience is left to infer much from spotty information, and yet a full and specific picture emerges. We are never in doubt of the truth of the characters and the absolute ... Full Review

Colin Covert
February 27, 2009
Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune

The film is all about creating a mood, and it hangs over you for days. Full Review

Amy Biancolli
February 27, 2009
Amy Biancolli, Houston Chronicle

[A] compact, compassionate portrait of a man struggling to define himself and his own understanding of happiness. Full Review

Tom Long
February 27, 2009
Tom Long, Detroit News

Instead of opting for a big dramatic setting he stays small, finding the tender truth within what could have seemed a cliché. Full Review

Lisa Kennedy
February 27, 2009
Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post

It's the sort of brooding turn that makes us mourn Phoenix's threatened retreat from acting. Full Review

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Two Lovers Trivia

  • The 1993 romantic comedy "Sleepless in Seattle" was not the first film to have two lovers plan to meet at the top of the Empire State Building. What classic film was the idea taken from (they mention its name in the film)?  Answer »
  • What were the names of the two lovers in the Notebook?  Answer »
  • Who portray the two ?star-crossed lovers? in Baz Luhrmann?s masterpiece of William Shakespeare?s Romeo and Juliet (1996)?  Answer »
  • in what movie did two lovers meet on a ship?  Answer »
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