Set in the insular world of Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, TWO LOVERS is a classic romantic drama, with Joaquin Phoenix giving a raw and vulnerable performance as Leonard, a charismatic but troubled young man who moves back into his childhood home following a recent heartbreak. While recovering under the watchful eye of his parents (Isabella Rossellini and Moni Monoshov), Leonard meets two women in quick succession: Michelle (Gwyneth Paltrow), a mysterious and beautiful neighbor who is exotic and out-of-place in Leonard’s staid world, and Sandra, the lovely and caring daughter of a businessman who is buying out his family’s dry-cleaning business.
Leonard becomes deeply infatuated by Michelle, who seems poised to fall for him, but is having a self-destructive affair with a married man. At the same time, mounting pressure from his family pushes him towards committing to Sandra.
Leonard is forced to make an impossible decision - between the impetuousness of desire and the comfort of love - or risk falling back into the darkness that nearly killed him.
Cast: Joaquin Phoenix, Gwyneth Paltrow, Vinessa Shaw, Moni Moshonov, Isabella Rossellini
Directed by James Gray
Script: James Gray, Ric Menello
Producer: Donna Gigliotti, James Gray, Anthony Katagas
The events that overwhelm a middle-aged, seemingly happily married couple. The arrogant, bourgeois M. Hervey descends from a train into the teeming bustle of the city. While on his way home, he reflects on the sturdiness of his life: the success he has made of it, and the fortress of security he has built around himself. It is not long before his self-satisfaction is rudely shattered when he discovers a letter from his wife, Gabrielle, waiting for him on his sideboard. The contents of the message will crumble that security and plunge him into newfound feelings of vulnerability, abandonment and betrayal. Husband and wife find themselves engaged in a parry-and-thrust of emotions that change mid-sentence and stretch their ability to function and live in the same house.
In Competition at the 62nd Venice International Film Festival, 2005. Isabelle Huppert won Special Lion for Exceptional Outstanding performance in Gabrielle, and in life career.
Starring: Isabelle Huppert, Pascal Greggory, Claudia Coli, Thierry Hancisse, Chantal Neuwirth
French language with latvian and russian subtitles.
Are we in charge of our lives, or are decisions made for us long before we consider them? Do we control our destiny, or do unseen forces manipulate it? In the film, Damon plays a man who glimpses the future planned for him and realizes he wants something else. To get it, he must pursue the only woman he’s ever loved (Blunt) and defy the agents of Fate—a mysterious group of men exerting control over their lives.
Based upon the short story “Adjustment Team” by Philip K. Dick (“Total Recall,” “Minority Report”
and “Blade Runner”).
Starring: Matt Damon, Emily Blunt, John Slattery, Michael Kelly, Terence Stamp
Directed by: George Nolfi