Two LoversMovie Reviews

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Avg. Critic Score: 74 out of 100 Generally favorable reviews Metascore® based on all critic reviews
Information for Parents:
16 Iffy for 16+
Read Common Sense Media review

Critic scores range from 0 to 100, with higher scores indicating more favorable reviews.

  • 100
    San Francisco Chronicle | Mick LaSalle

    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 full review

  • 91
    Entertainment Weekly | Owen Gleiberman

    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 full review

  • 88
    Chicago Sun-Times | Roger Ebert

    The whole movie is so well-cast and performed that we watch it unfolding without any particular awareness of "acting." Read full review

  • 80
    The Hollywood Reporter | Ray Bennett

    Phoenix plays the romantic lead with great intelligence and enormous charm, making his character's conflict utterly believable, and Paltrow positively glows as the radiant shiksa who dazzles him. Read full review

  • 80
    Los Angeles Times |

    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 full review

  • 75
    USA Today | Claudia Puig

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

  • 75
    Rolling Stone | Peter Travers

    The film's secrets unfold slowly, allowing Phoenix and Paltrow -- a luminous fusion of grace and grit -- to build a relationship in full. The script, by Gray and Richard Menello, is inspired by Dostoevsky's "White Nights." Read full review

  • 70
    Washington Post | Ann Hornaday

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

  • 70
    The New York Times | A.O. Scott

    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 full review

  • 70
    Variety | Todd McCarthy

    This very New York tale is old-fashioned in good ways that have to do with solid storytelling, craftsmanship and emotional acuity. Read full review

View more reviews for Two Lovers on Metacritic

Information for Parents
Common Sense Media says Iffy for 16+ Joaquin Phoenix indie is a boring, self-indulgent melodrama.
What Parents Need to Know Parents need to know that this indie drama stars Joaquin Phoenix and Gwyneth Paltrow but is not a teen-oriented romance. The movie covers several mature themes like alienation, unrequited love, suicidal tendencies, and how parents relate to their adult children. There are two sex scenes, including a bare breast; very coarse language (more than 30 "F" bombs); and an apparent suicide attempt.
  • Families can talk about the way Leonard's two relationships affect him. How is he different with Sandra than with Michelle?
  • What genre is this movie?
  • Was it expressive or boring?
  • The characters all seem much younger than the actors. Are the actors believable playing people in their early 20s?
The good stuff
  • message true0 Positive messages: Adulterous relationship succeeds, man seems to try to commit suicide.
What to watch for
  • violence false3 Violence: Disturbing scene of a man jumping into water apparently to drown himself. Upsetting conversation about miscarriage and a D&C.
  • sex false5 Sex: Two sex scenes -- one is in a bed with bare shoulders/backs visible and the other one outdoors with the couple fully clothed. Michelle shows one breast to Leonard through her apartment window.
  • language false5 Language: Coarse language -- more "F" bombs (at least 30) than usual for an R-rated drama.
  • consumerism false0 Consumerism: Mercedes, The Metropolitan Opera, and Cartier are all featured.
  • drugsalcoholtobacco false3 Drinking, drugs and smoking: Michelle and her buddies take Ecstasy and various adults at a club and party are shown drinking cocktails.
An independent nonprofit dedicated to providing families the information they need to help kids thrive in a world of media and technology. © Common Sense Media Inc. 2010. All rights reserved.

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Dave White

2.0

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He hates himself. Chicks love this. Read full review See Dave White's on MOVIENAME on Movies.com

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