The Best Films of the 00s: 2009

by Tony Dayoub

2009 proved surprisingly robust in its cinematic offerings. It yielded two films which you'll see tomorrow when I wrap this up with my look at the Best of the Decade. In the meantime, this should prove to be a highly debatable list, as these lists often are when they are created so soon before any serious critical consensus has been achieved. Some reminders: I cannot judge movies I haven't seen, so if you feel a film you like was unjustly left out, it might be that I haven't seen it; also, I've included a link back to the original review for each film.

And now, in alphabetical order, the best films of 2009...

Movie Review: Two Lovers, One For Each of Joaquin’s Careers

by Lissette Decos So much time passes between the lights fading to black, the vulgar commercials, lotsa trailers, and the actual movie that when I found myself about to see Two Lovers I wondered for a moment, “Why am I seeing this movie?" I hadn’t seen a trailer, and the only article I had read was some lame detail about the unique locations its director had chosen. And then, all of a sudden, there was the reason walking across the screen... Joaquin. I love anything Joaquin Phoenix is in (preteen, angst-ridden Joaquin even made me love Parenthood). I was here because Joaquin says he has quit acting, and if that turns out to be true, this is his last film. If you’re like me, when you hear “two lovers” you’re like, “Wow, lucky you,” or “Can you spare some change?” But in this film, Joaquin’s two lovers represent his two conflicting sides. Both sides struggle with the question that children of immigrants in the United States must at one point ask themselves, “Am I American or am I Cuban? Am I Puerto Rican or am I...?” Well that’s actually a bad example. But you get the point. This question often weighs one down because one can’t really be both. In this film, JP - as I like to call him – is torn between obligations to his ethnic side, represented by his family (the tribe or the clan), and his American or individualistic side, the part of him that wants to break free from tradition and not suffer the fate of his boring folks. His lovers symbolically personify his struggle with these dual obligations. One lover (played subtly by Vinessa Shaw) represents the tribe. It’s no surprise that their first kiss is in front of the wall of portraits of all of the generations of JP’s clan in the film. The other lover is played by Gwyneth Paltrow. Her performance was impressive (but I would be uber-talented too if I got to make Chris Martin’s dinner once in a while). This lover represents the soul-searching free spirit who in actuality is a lost individual. She's the kind of person that makes up her own rules as she goes along, and then breaks them; the one that is cool, crazy and free, like surfers in California. American freedom is what JP wants more than anything in Two Lovers, and so he pines after Gwyn’s blond haired ideal. By the end of the film I couldn’t help but feel that these two lovers could also represent JP’s two careers. The clan girlfriend represents his acting career, his heritage, his safe success. Gwyn represents the rapper in him, the wild child without rules. My theory is not so far-fetched - in the film he raps and even break-dances to Gwyn. The funny thing is that to just about everyone on the planet (except maybe Obama), an actor’s life is amazing and incredible, but yet the life of a musician is somehow way cooler to actors. They don’t have to memorize no stupid lines. They don’t have to work so hard to act like someone else. With music, they can hide their cryptic selves behind their own lyrics instead. I believe the main reason is because after years of directors directing them; agents agenting them; interviews; and most of all, having to smile so much on red carpets, the only logical response is to pay for studio time and scream lyrics they wrote while on junkets into a microphone (this theory of mine is based on the astronomical number of actors that start rock bands and… on me taking a wild guess. Plus, I once saw Juliette Lewis perform with her band Juliette and the Licks. It was loud.). In Two Lovers, JP the actor is taken care of by the clan, kept safe and warm and showered with boring yet useful gifts like jobs and winter gloves. JP the rapper releases his individualistic side, does drugs, and has sex on rooftops. The latter sounds more rock-n-roll, yes? I hope so much that Two Lovers will not be Joaquin’s last film. That is, if we don’t count the mockumentary that Casey Affleck is supposedly filming of JP’s transference into rap life. I hope that in the end, this rap thing turns out to be a big joke, and that we get the punchline. I hope it turns out in real life for Joaquin like it does for his character in the film, a film which teaches that you can’t count on selfish, crazy, drug-using individuals. They will leave you out in the cold waiting with a suitcase full of dreams. But you can always count on the tribe. They will take you in even after you’ve been a total ass. Two Lovers is a great film. Take your two lovers to see it, that is, if you fall into that 4%*. Or if you’re like me, take a small popcorn and a box of Goobers. *Percentage number is based on wishful thinking.

Movie Review: Two Lovers - Serious Romance Charms with Its Emotional Depth

James Gray's Two Lovers begins with a man jumping off a Brighton Beach pier, hoping to drown, yet ultimately too fearful to go through with it. Leonard Kraditor (Joaquin Phoenix) is a nice-guy schlub who's moved back in with his Jewish parents (Isabella Rossellini, Moni Moshonov). Arriving home, drenched from head to toe, his worried mother doesn't seem too surprised at her son's condition. He's attempted suicide at least one other time, we'll learn later, and is on medication to combat his depression. His fiancee had left him after a genetic test indicated that any offspring of theirs would likely suffer a debilitating disease and die after one year. Soon, he meets two women. One is Sandra (Vinessa Shaw), daughter of a dry cleaner who plans on merging his company with that of Leonard's dad. She is a sensible woman from a good Jewish family that Leonard's parents hope will get him out of his funk. He also meets a neighbor, Michelle (Gwyneth Paltrow), a charmingly neurotic beauty that he finds himself instantly attracted to. The apartment she stays at is right across the courtyard from his window, and is provided to her by her married lover (Elias Koteas) who comes to see her when visiting his mother. The plot could easily form the basis for a typical romantic comedy were it not in the hands of Gray (We Own the Night), with Sandra playing the vanilla girl who stands in the way of Leonard's pursuit of his dream girl, Michelle. But Gray treats the proceedings with seriousness and sympathy for all of his characters, especially Leonard. In this, his third collaboration with Phoenix (The Yards), Gray seems to be maturing somewhat. Like in his previous films, Gray confounds expectations he has deliberately encouraged, leading us up to the predictable conclusion and then turning away with subtlety to provide a more realistic alternative. So when Leonard's mom is shown to be a nosy old biddy, for instance, it's not to imply that she is domineering and may be at the root of his problems with women. It is to demonstrate how fragile he is after his suicide attempts, the implication being that his mom feels she may have failed him once and is unwilling to do so again. Leaving behind the melodrama of his earlier crime pictures, Gray also hones in on another strength evident in his earlier films, the ability to elicit outstanding performances of great emotional depth. It's a real shame that Phoenix is leaving acting behind to pursue a rap career. Supposedly his "last" performance, this is perhaps the most touching performance of his career. As Leonard, Phoenix reveals the lonely soul of a man abandoned by love who still reaches out for someone to save him. Phoenix uses his best features, his hooded eyes, to great effect here, alternately lifting and lowering his gaze as if to unveil and shroud his wounded heart to at least the viewer, if to no one else. And strangely enough, a goofy rap on his first outing with Michelle instantly endears him to her and us, the viewers, as well. Gray underscores the allure that Michelle holds for Leonard in some interesting ways. When they trade cell numbers in order for her to be able to start texting him, it immediately characterizes their relationship with touches of modernity, secrecy and excitement, a way out for Leonard from the path of tradition he feels locked into in Brighton Beach. Gray usually frames Paltrow (Iron Man) in a blur, both figuratively and literally. The first time Michelle and Leonard go out, he euphorically gets caught up in her Ecstasy-induced haze as they party in a club, the whirl of dancing people and colored lights surrounding them. The picture above demonstrates how only Michelle is in focus when he is with her. But this shot is from early on in the film, and as he (and we) get to know her, the frame's background begins to sharpen. Sandra, on the other hand, represents his roots, and perhaps painfully reminds him of the woman who left him. Gray often depicts her within the context of family, i.e., her brother's bar mitzvah; cancelling a date because of her father's birthday; a New Year's party at Leonard's parents' home. She often prefers coming to see him in person, rather than calling him on the phone. Even her gift of winter gloves to Leonard is a sensible, though unexciting one. As seen in the picture above, Sandra is a natural beauty, dressing conservatively, and wearing little makeup. Gray often shoots Shaw (The Hills Have Eyes) with a wide-angle lens, tying her character into the background, rooting her in Leonard's world. The director, an aspiring painter in his youth, gives Leonard and Sandra's world his typical chiaroscuro lighting, accentuating the contrast between the safety and stability of Sandra's world in Brooklyn, and the glitzy wonder of Michelle's Manhattan life. This upcoming Valentine's Day, if you've had your fill of comedy, but still ache for romance in your cinema, Two Lovers is a great movie to watch. Two Lovers opens in limited release February 13, 2009.