„A dour Pr

ir

e
° 14: - ;:s! the
12 :1 cr ce ! ul : l n‘ : 3 1;r : e\ r: ! 8°a

2/27/2009 - Brazil
4/24/2009 - The Orient
6/26/2009 - United States

Director-writer James Gray and Joaquin Phoenix on the set of Two Lovers

go through life seeing what we want
to see.
Jewish director/co-writer James
Gray is savvy in doling out small but
telling details of the characters' previ-
ous experiences, avoiding dime-store
psychology and leaving plenty of room
for us to interpret and extrapolate
their pasts and futures.
Although Sandra and Michelle
exert completely different pulls on
Leonard — the Jewish woman rep-
resents cultural familiarity, security
and family while the beautiful blonde
regularly needs a hand to help her
through a mess — the movie avoids
the schematic old-school standoff
between Jewish and non-Jewish

romantic interests.
Sandra doesn't quite embody Jewish
conservatism, and Michelle doesn't
represent forbidden fruit. Leonard is
a loving son, with no impulse to rebel
against his parents by taking a non-
Jewish lover. (Knowing they would
disapprove, however, he conceals
the extent of his relationship with
Michelle.)
What Leonard assuredly does want,
though, is a life that's his own, predi-
cated on his own choices. There are
consequences to his impulsive deci-
sions, of course, and Two Lovers deftly
leaves us balancing on the point of a
pin, debating if Leonard is a child of
grace or an agent of tragedy. ❑

1: : :is .c 1 ‘1 :1 e -:* 1 co113 1" 6" 3 6 6

?

Dont f

o rget to co

"Igt‘j011 clY°:°

c ses .51

°P o ri nicIrs onn
e e

eectt °ori
tniortdm

°lid° E'lents

LAST CHANCE TO SEE TOPOL

THE STAR OF THE MOTION PICTURE

Two Lovers is scheduled to open Friday, Feb. 27, at the Uptown
Birmingham 8 theater.

Braunstein's long-estranged
daughter, actress Natasha Lyonne,
has called her father, who cur-
rently is promoting a big upcoming
fight in Israel, a "shady character."
So, I leave it to you readers to
decide whether Braunstein made
up a conversion tale that got him
and his fight mentioned in the
Daily News and elsewhere.

Small Screen

Whitney Port, 23, is a familiar
name to MTV reality-show watch-
ers. Port was a minor participant
in The Hills, about (real) rich teens
in Southern California, and now
she's the central person in the
MTV series The City, which began

last December.
In 2006, Port
nabbed a plum
job as an intern
for Teen Vogue,
and her time
there became
the subject of a
number of Hills

Whitney Port

episodes.
In 2008, after graduating from
college, Port was hired by Diane
Von Furstenberg's clothing com-
pany in New York. That job, and
Port's personal life, including
dating, is the subject of The City.
Port recently appeared on Jimmy
Kimmel's talk show and told him
she is Jewish.

HEAR the rousing, heartwarming score that includes the classics "Tradition,"
"Matchmaker, Matchmaker," "If I Were A Rich Man" and "Sunrise, Sunset."

8 SHOWS ONLY! Tues.-Fri. 8PM; Sat. 2PM & 8PM; Sun. 2PM & 7:30PM

Detroit Opera House • March 3-8 • Tickets at Fisher Theatre box office &

❑

LINCOLN

REACH:HIGHER

—

BROADWAY

IN

all ticketmaster outlets incl. Macy's • ticketmaster.com • 800-982-2787
Info 313-872-1000 • BroadwaylnDetroit.com • Groups (12+): 313-871-1132
or groupsales@nederlanderdetroit.com

DETROIT Sponsored by your Metro Detroit Lincoln Dealers.

1472920

February 26 • 2009

B11