With Joaquin Phoenix’s last ever movie “Two Lovers” in Irish cinemas Friday, Movies.ie recommends the following flicks
Leonard is a sensitive and depressed man in his 30s who moves back into his parents’ apartment after being involved in a terrible romantic breakup. He works for his father’s cleaners business, but his true interest is photography. After he is set up with the daughter (Vinessa Shaw) of his parents’ best friends, he suddenly becomes infatuated with the gorgeous but troubled Michelle (Gwyneth Paltrow) he spots across from his bedroom window. The problem: She’s having an affair with a married man. What to do?
For his supposed “last film ever” Joaquin Phoenix showcases his talents in this beautifully made romantic drama. Before seeing Two Lovers this weekend, make sure to check out the following flicks with your paramour:
THE APARTMENT
Jack Lemmon plays C.C. Baxter, a go-getting office worker who loans his tiny apartment to his philandering superiors for their romantic trysts. He runs into trouble when he finds himself sharing a girlfriend (Shirley MacLaine) with his callous boss (Fred MacMurray). Director/co-writer Billy Wilder claimed that the idea for The Apartment stemmed from a short scene in the 1945 romantic drama Brief Encounter in which the illicit lovers (Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson) arrange a rendezvous in a third person’s apartment. Wilder was intrigued about what sort of person would willingly vacate his residence to allow virtual strangers a playing field for hanky panky. His answer to that question wound up winning 6 Academy Awards, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Original Screenplay.
LOVE WITH THE PROPER STRANGER
Taken for granted by her Italian family, New Yorker Natalie Wood seeks solace in the arms of irresponsible jazz musician Steve McQueen. She becomes pregnant, but doesn’t expect McQueen to marry her; all she wants is enough money to pay for an illegal abortion). Not surprisingly, McQueen is refused a loan by his girlfriend Edie Adams; meanwhile, Wood is being pressured by her family to marry gormless Tom Bosley. As the abortion appointment approaches, McQueen begins to feel guilty, but still won’t propose. Bosley finds out that Wood is pregnant, and is willing to make an honest woman of her. Wood finally makes up her mind what she’s going to do and whom she’s going to choose when she walks into the seedy abortion clinic. Though very dated, Love With the Proper Stranger is still dramatically viable, thanks to the on-screen rapport between Natalie Wood and Steve McQueen.
WHITE NIGHTS
Shy young Marcelo Mastroianni ambles across a bridge one evening, where he meets a strange but alluring girl (Maria Schell) who is awaiting her lover. This chance acquaintance is the first strand in a complex web entrapping Mastroianni in a dreamlike world of flashbacks, flashforwards and false visions. The girl, suspecting that her lover is staying at a nearby hotel, asks Mastroianni to deliver a note to the errant swain. He agrees–then destroys the note, setting the plot in motion.
REVOLUTIONARY ROAD
April (Kate Winslet) and Frank Wheeler (Leonardo DiCaprio) are a young couple, living what appears to be the ideal life in the Connecticut of the 1950s. He has a nice job, she is a mother of two with dreams of an acting career. But beneath the surface is a lingering dissatisfaction with their lives; Frank is having an affair with an office worker (Zoe Kazan), and April is terribly unhappy with the way her life is turning out. They engage in ferocious arguments, constantly disproving the idea they are the perfect couple. One day April decides the answer to all their problems is to move to Paris and start over. Frank initially agrees, but the relationship goes downhill even further from there and things spiral out of control.
“Two Lovers” is in Irish cinemas from Friday, March 27th.