Two Lovers - Movie Review and Synopsis
Two Lovers is a romantic drama set in New York City. It tells the story of Leonard (Joaquin Phoenix), an attractive but depressed young man who moves back in with his parents following a recent heartbreak. An aspiring photographer, Leonard works part-time at his father’s dry-cleaners. His concerned parents try to set him up with Sandra (Vinessa Shaw), the sweet and caring daughter of a close family friend. A big family dinner serves as their introduction and Leonard arranges to see her again. Then late one night Leonard looks out his bedroom window and notices a ravishing young woman he’s never seen before. Michelle (Gwyneth Paltrow) recently moved into an apartment in his family’s building – an apartment paid for by the wealthy married man she’s seeing.
Just in case you haven’t heard Joaquin’s confirmation that he’s quitting acting, Two Lovers, which reunites Mr. Phoenix with We Own the Night director James Gray, looks to be his last big-screen performance. But I’m thinking he (in real life) might be as volatile as Gwyneth’s character in this romantic drama, and he might reconsider his decision after a timeout. If not: Au revoir, Joaquin. We love you and we hope that you don’t write songs that sound like the Coldplay.
Meanwhile, skipping over G. Paltrow altogether, my attention turns to Ms. Vinessa Shaw, who is putting together a decent indie resume and could be one of Hollywood’s next leading ladies. If I were marketing this film, I would generate reports that Shaw’s performance outshines her costars’ work; make it a total Rebecca Hall/Vicky Cristina Barcelona situation.
Rated R for language, some sexuality and brief drug use.
Director: James Gray
Stars: Joaquin Phoenix, Gwyneth Paltrow, Vinessa Shaw
Studio: 2929 Productions
Release Date: 13 February 2009 (USA)
Based on the books “Confessions of a Shopaholic” and “Shopaholic Takes Manhattan” by Sophie Kinsella. Rebecca Bloomwood (Isla Fisher) is a 25 year old who lives with her best friend Suze (Krysten Ritter) in Suze’s flat (paying her friend rent that is well below market value), in a trendy part of town. Rebecca has a very boring job writing for a financial magazine. She has a shopping addiction and her crap job doesn’t pay enough. Her bills are piling up, so she tries cutting back (complete fiasco), then she tries making more money (another fiasco). Eventually, Becky discovers a story that she is truly invested in. Exposing the story gets the attention of a colleague that she hasn’t quite figured out yet. Some drama ensues as she snags the guy, and she attempts to pay off her ever-growing debt.
Lucy Hill (Renee Zellweger) is a high achiever shooting to become a Vice President. To show the President that she has the ability, she takes an assignment to restructure one of their small manufacturing plants in Minnesota. From the high life in Miami to the bitter cold, snow, and icy roads, Lucy must endure these hardships to succeed. Lucy is treated as an outsider when she arrives, and the locals give her a week before she leaves. Lucy is a fighter and wants to win. She meets Ted Mitchell (Harry Connick, Jr.) who is the union representative. At first, she has some conflicts with the workers, but soon they begin to accept her. The new product line is a bust, and she is ordered to close the plant and fire everyone. However, she has a better idea of making money for the company and saving everybody’s job. Along the way, she finds something she didn’t know she was looking for – “Love”.
Two best friends (Hudson and Hathaway) become rivals when a clerical error results in their respective weddings being held at the same place … on the same day.
“I was born under unusual circumstances.” And so begins ‘The Curious Case of Benjamin Button,’ adapted from the 1920s story by F. Scott Fitzgerald about a man who is born in his eighties and ages backwards: a man, like any of us, who is unable to stop time. We follow his story, set in New Orleans from the end of World War I in 1918 to the 21st century, following his journey that is as unusual as any man’s life can be. Directed by David Fincher and starring Brad Pitt and Cate Blanchett with Taraji P. Henson, Tilda Swinton, Jason Flemyng, Elias Koteas and Julia Ormond, Benjamin Button is a grand tale of a not-so-ordinary man and the people and places he discovers along the way, the loves he finds, the joys of life and the sadness of death, and what lasts beyond time.
