Two Lovers (2008 film)
| Two Lovers | |
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Theatrical release poster
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| Directed by | James Gray |
| Produced by |
Donna Gigliotti James Gray Anthony Katagas |
| Written by | James Gray Richard Menello |
| Starring |
Joaquin Phoenix Gwyneth Paltrow Vinessa Shaw Isabella Rossellini Elias Koteas Moni Moshonov |
| Cinematography | Joaquin Baca-Asay |
| Edited by | John Axelrad |
| Distributed by | Magnolia Pictures |
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Release date
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Running time
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100 minutes |
| Country | United States |
| Language | English |
| Box office | $16,303,643 |
Two Lovers is a 2008 American romantic drama film, taking its inspiration from Fyodor Dostoyevsky's short story "White Nights", which had already been turned into a film 7 times, first by Luchino Visconti: Le Notti Bianche (1957). The movie is directed by James Gray and stars Joaquin Phoenix, Gwyneth Paltrow, and Vinessa Shaw. It is set in the largely Russian Jewish neighborhood Brighton Beach in New York City, as was Gray's first movie Little Odessa. Two Lovers premiered in competition at the 2008 Cannes Film Festival in May. The movie is Gray's third to enter the competition at this festival. It was released on February 13, 2009.
Leonard (Phoenix) is walking along a bridge over a creek in Brooklyn, when suddenly he jumps into the water in an attempted suicide. He changes his mind and quickly walks home to his parents' apartment. His mother, seeing him dripping wet, tells her husband their son has tried it again and it becomes evident that Leonard has tried to kill himself before.
His parents tell him that a potential business partner and his family are invited for dinner that night and ask him to be present. When they arrive, Leonard finds that he had been set up with the other family's daughter, Sandra (Shaw). She inquires about his interest in photography and notices a photo of a girl above his headboard. He explains he had been engaged to the girl for several years, but the relationship was broken off when it turned out both he and his fiancée carried the gene for Tay–Sachs disease, which results in diseased children who generally don't live beyond age 12, so they would be unable to have healthy children.
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