A depressed man moves back in with his parents following a recent heartbreak and finds himself with two women.
Acting
Phoenix's trembling vulnerability—pre-'I'm Still Here' madness.
Direction
Gray's Queens operatic intimacy, all close-ups and ache.
Cinematography
Golden-hour Brooklyn never looked this suffocating.
Director
James Gray
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Based on Dostoevsky's 'White Nights'—Gray swapped St. Petersburg for Brighton Beach and existential Russian despair for Jewish familial guilt.
Shot in 2007, released in 2008—the same year Phoenix's 'documentary' hoax began, making this his last 'straight' performance for years. The fragility here hits different knowing the chaos coming.
US
