Two Lovers (2009) Critic Reviews

The flaws in Two Lovers are inseparable from its strengths. You could, I suppose, criticize the movie for being too sincere; too generous to its imperfect, self-deluded characters; too absorbed in their small crises and disproportionate reactions. But that criticism might sound a lot like praise.Read the full review

The movie's chief value is to preserve Phoenix at the height of his wary physical grace, which recalls a young Marlon Brando.Read the full review

Themes of loneliness, alienation and unrequited love are not new, but there is always that sense of the unexpected in Phoenix that keeps you curious.Read the full review

Joaquin Phoenix gives a superbly raw and excruciatingly vulnerable performance.Read the full review

In the movies, romantic love conquers all. In reality, it's a little different, and that's what Gray is trying to show.Read the full review

For a filmmaker who has made his reputation with such crime thrillers as "Little Odessa" and "The Yards," James Gray reveals an unexpected gift for the mysteries of romance.Read the full review

The characters are all a little too old for this sort of drama, and they know it, but that makes Two Lovers as much about last chances as new loves.Read the full review

As in a good European film, shots are allowed to breathe. The focus is on character and human emotion. At the same time, the movie shows an American concern for pace and story development. The result is the best of both worlds.Read the full review

James Gray's Two Lovers really is a '70s movie, in the mode of such raw, unfiltered character studies as "The Panic in Needle Park," "Wanda," and "Fat City."Read the full review