Two Lovers contains, in my humble/exalted opinion, the finest performances by Joaquin Phoenix and Gwyneth Paltrow in their careers to date. This is a small, closely observed romantic drama (with some humorous undertones) about people who live in the Brighton Beach neighborhood of Brooklyn, New York.

Meet Leonard (Phoenix). He's a classic lost soul. He's a lonely, depressed Jewish bachelor who has returned to his boyhood room in his parent's apartment after a relationship that ended disastrously. His family worries about him, especially his mother, played brilliantly by Isabella Rossellini, who plays totally against archetype as a Jewish mother who cares, but refuses to intrude. She has a scene near the end with her son on the apartment staircase that is revelatory.

Close friends with Leonard's family is another Jewish family with a beautiful and sweet daughter, Sandra (Vinessa Shaw). She has been attracted to Leonard from afar for a while and engineers a meet with him. It's shows a lot about her that when she meets Leonard she instantly confesses this. She knows what she wants and she wants Leonard. She is adorable and ought to be his soulmate.

Gosh, you might say, this is all very nice, but (yawn) I've got to go empty the crumb drawer of my toaster.

Then a hand grenade with the pin pulled rolls into the movie in the person of Paltrow, as Michelle. Volatile blond shiksa neighbor! Sexy club-goer! Does drugs! Tormented from having affair with married man! She gloms onto Leonard as the brother-confessor she needs to help her through her drama. Elias Koteas does a nice cameo turn as the rich married lawyer who is keeping her as his mistress. When he meets Leonard, he enlists him to keep a watch on Michelle's drug use. No one has a clue about Leonard's feelings.

Poor sap, Leonard is totally smitten with Michelle. Head over heels.

What throws enormous tension into this volatile situation is the close-knit Jewish society we see surrounding and embracing Leonard. In a Bar Mitzvah scene, the camera pulls back to the far end of a ballroom so all we can see is a room loaded with joyous, dancing Jews, including Leonard. This is obviously where Leonard belongs.

Yet. Is this where he will be happy?

The last 10 minutes contains some of the finest acting I have ever seen as Leonard permanently settles things with each of the women in turn. There's a scene where Michelle approaches Leonard in a dark alley when you pray, you pray, she will not say what you absolutely know she is about to say.

A hat tip to director James Gray, who loves New York and its denizens as much as I do.