11,4,1‘111k*114.. W46. J.011,11i4F Arts & Entertainment Romance And Drama In Brighton Beach Joaquin Phoenix (Leonard) and Vanissa Shaw (Sandra) as a Jewish couple with similar backgrounds in Two Lovers. Director/co-writer James Gray plumbs the murky depths of need and obsession in his new film, Two Lovers. Michael Fox Special to the Jewish News T he artfully etched and deeply dis- comfiting romantic drama Two Lovers begins with the disturbed main character slipping fully clothed over the railing of a Brighton Beach pier and far below the surface of the rippling water. We know this suicide attempt won't succeed, thanks to the properties of both physics and the movies. (Name a picture where the star is killed off in the first reel.) But we watch the entire film in a state of dread, waiting for another horrible fall. Two Lovers centers on a peculiar kind of American Jew — the neurotic urbanite with a painful double life. He's intelligent and charming, with sufficient social skills to function in the world for long stretches. But there's something askew in his wiring that, sooner or later, will cause a melt- down. Thanks in large measure to a creative and nimble performance by Joaquin Phoenix, Two Lovers delicately avoids the cliches and stereotypes of both mental ill- ness and protective Jewish families. It still feels like watching a car accident unfold in slow motion, too far away for our warning shouts to be heard yet we can't look away. (Phoenix, who is Jewish by virtue of his Jewish mother, says this is his last acting performance; the Oscar-nominated star, fresh off a strange appearance on The Late Show with David Letterman that garnered headlines, asserts he will now pursue a hip-hop music career full time.) The 30-something Leonard works in his father's dry-cleaning business and, we infer, is back home after a brief stay in an institution. His parents (played by Israeli actor Moni Moshonov and Isabella Rosselini) walk the line between keep- ing an eye on him without hovering and allowing him complete freedom while hoping he doesn't spin out of control. The Jewish businessman who's nego- tiating to buy Pop's shop has a pretty, soft-spoken daughter, and Leonard's parents gently nudge Leonard and Sandra (Vinessa Shaw, whose real-life father is Jewish; the original family name was Schwartz) together. Leonard, an obedient son with good manners and a healthy sex drive, doesn't mind too much. That is, until he meets Michelle (Gwyneth Paltrow, daughter of the late Jewish director Bruce Paltrow), a non- Jewish neighbor with a bit more drama in her life than she can adequately manage. Leonard gloms onto her, not out of love or Leonard (Joaquin Phoenix) with Michelle (Gwyneth Paltrow), a needy non-Jewish woman to whom he is equally attracted attraction but by the desperate need to be needed. Someone is going to get hurt, badly, when all the ships toss up on shore, although it's hard to call anyone a victim and impossible to point out a villain. One may wonder why neither Sandra nor Michelle is particularly adept at reading the danger signs that Leonard can't help but put out, but the truth is we tend to Jews Nate Bloom Special to the Jewish News On The Road Fanboys was released to a limited number of theaters this month, after sitting in the can for more than two years while the studio argued about plot changes. Set in 1998, it follows four young guys and one tomboy (Huntington Woods native Kristen Bell) who grew up obsessed with Star Wars. One of the young men has terminal can- cer. His buddies Jay Baruchel decide to drive as a B10 February 26 • 2009 iN group from Ohio to California and break into George Lucas' studio and steal a prerelease copy of The Phantom Menace so their ill friend can see it before he dies. They have adventures along the way that include meeting William Shatner and Carrie Fisher. Jay Baruchel (Tropic Thunder), 26, and Dan Fogler (Good Luck, Chuck), 32, play two of the road trippers. Supermodels Israeli supermodel Bar Refaeli, 23, made the cover of the annual swimsuit issue of Sports Illustrated. Also appearing in the issue is Israeli model Esti Ginzburg, 18. Both have huge spreads on the Sports Illustrated Bar Refaeli Web site, including photos and video interviews. Refaeli was the subject of a big controversy in 2007 when she admitted that she entered into a brief, sham marriage with a friend to avoid her obligatory military service. An Israeli paper quoted her as say- ing that military service would have hampered her career and "it is bet- ter to live in New York City than die for your country." She claimed she was misquoted and worked to stem the furor by agreeing to visit injured IDF soldiers. Ginzburg, meanwhile, made Esti Ginzburg a deal to fulfill her service by giving talks to IDF soldiers while getting release time to model overseas. Last week, the New York Daily News reported that Refaeli's father told boxing promoter Aaron Braunstein that he wouldn't agree to a marriage between his daughter and her steady, actor Leonardo DiCaprio, unless DiCaprio converts to Judaism.