This film may possibly be Joaquin Phoenix’s last. I hope it is not, but if it is, he ends by giving one of his best performances. Two Lovers is about heartbreak and the complication of a relationship. The mind wants one thing, but the heart wants another. Phoenix’s character is going through that very struggle. He does not know what he wants or what he’s getting in to.
The story of Two Lovers is about Leonard Kraditor (Phoenix) who has moved back in with his parents. His father is going in to business with another guy, and so the set of parents decide to hook up their two kids. Sandra (played by Vinessa Shaw) seems like she is perfect for Leonard. Leonard practically tells her all his secrets the first night he meets her. We find out that Leonard has been in love before. Actually he was engaged. However, the engagement falls a part and it haunts Leonard. But Sandra is there for him. She wants to take care of him. However, things change when Leonard meets Michelle.
Gwyneth Paltrow plays Michelle, who has a lot of baggage attached to her. Leonard finds out Michelle has a boyfriend, and that boyfriend is married. But this does not stop Leonard from falling head-over-heels for her. He likes her. Then he slowly starts to love her. He has forgotten all about Sandra and wants to be with Michelle. He wants to take care of her. So, as the film unfolds we see the struggle of Leonard and the woman he wants to be with.
Gwyneth Paltrow does a good job in this film, and so does Vinessa Shaw. Both of these ladies show their talent in these characters. But Joaquin Phoenix shows the most talent. He plays a heart-broken man who may never want a relationship again. He has tried suicide more than once and is a very confused man. And Phoenix is able to show all these emotions even sometimes without saying a word. Two Lovers is an interesting story about love and what it can do to people. It’s about finding that right person or who you think might be the right person for you. You never know what role love might choose.
Brandon Vick is a member of The Music City Film Critics’ Association and the Southeastern Film Critics Association, the resident film critic of the SoBros Network, and the star of The Vick’s Flicks Podcast. Follow him on Twitter @SirBrandonV and be sure to search #VicksFlicks for all of his latest movie reviews.
Subscribe to the SoBros Network Patreon here – $5/month gets you instant access to an exhaustive content library of articles, podcasts, and videos created exclusively for our subscribers!