Two Lovers (2008)

It's hard to separate Joaquin Phoenix's nuanced performance as Leonard, the tortured anti-hero of this movie, from his mumbling weirdo act on David Letterman and elsewhere. I am of the camp that believes it's all for Casey Affleck's camera, but I suppose it's reasonable for others to presume that Joaquin is spiraling down into the depths from which his brother River never resurfaced. We should hope it's an act, as we don't want to wish that kind of unhappiness on anyone (I was living a mile away in 1993 when River fatally overdosed at the Viper Room and 19 year old Joaquin called 911). 

My first recollection of Joaquin onscreen was in Gus Van Sant's deliciously twisted To Die For (1995), he was spellbinding as another loser in Return to Paradise (1998), and his dedication to his craft apparently inspired Reese Witherspoon to "step it up a notch" in Walk The Line (2005), for which she won the Oscar and he had to be content with his nomination. 

Leonard, the center of Two Lovers, yet another washout character for Joaquin, was clearly very troubled, and, though awkward, still able to smile, joke, and lie through his pain from time to time. Occasionally we wondered how someone like Leonard could attract such knockouts as Sandra (Vinessa Shaw) and Michelle (Gwyneth Paltrow), but both women obviously had self-esteem issues. Paltrow made me believe she was actually that messed up and Isabella Rossellini was sweet as Leonard's supportive but nosy (Jewish) mother. Two Lovers was nominated for the Palme D'Or at Cannes, but lost to The Class.