MovieChat Forums > Two Lovers (2009) Discussion > Funny how nobody thought he was a douche...

Funny how nobody thought he was a douchebag..

posted 8 years ago by maraki-lost
4 replies | jump to latest

I'm wondering why we aren't talking about the fact that Leonard was a douchebag. Sure, he seems kind-hearted and is always there to help Michelle, leaving aside how much he hurts because he's friend-zoned..BUT he visits Michelle, listens to her, has sex with her while he's in a relationship with Sandra. Doesn't anyone care about that? She's the only one who has done nothing wrong in the entire movie. She's very caring, loving and on top of that, honest...something Leonard is not.

He kept hanging out with Sandra, not only because his parents pressured him to but because he was mad at Michelle. Notice how he mentions he has a girlfriend at the dinner with Michelle and her boyfriend, how each time he gets rejected by her, he then contacts Sandra. So here's what he is doing. He wants to pursue a relationship by Michelle but he knows it is difficult because she has a boyfriend so he sleeps with Sandra, keeps in touch with her. In the meantime, he still visits Michelle and hopes for a future with her while paying little to no attention to Sandra- just enough so that they don't drift apart- and when his dreams are shattered by Michelle, he goes bck to Sandra although he doesn't love her at all. Sure, he wouldn't want her to get hurt or see her die but he doesn't LOVE her and that's not fair to her because she's been nothing but wonderful to him.

He gave her the ring 5 minutes after he was dumped. He probably woke up the next day and regretted that move. Even if he didn't, let's say they got married and lived together until they got really old. Would Sandra have married him if she knew he led a double life and only chose her because he got dumped by his number one possible girlfriend?

I don't think so. You can't be a 'nice guy' if you are chasing after someone while making someone wait for you and having them think you like them just in case you don't end up with the one you actually like. Sandra had feelings, she wasn't a rebound or a plan B.

[–] RoonilWazlib (12) 6 years ago

"He kept hanging out with Sandra, not only because his parents pressured him to but because he was mad at Michelle. Notice how he mentions he has a girlfriend at the dinner with Michelle and her boyfriend, how each time he gets rejected by her, he then contacts Sandra. "

Thank you. I had exactly the same thoughts. It may be that he does find Sandra nice but he only proceeds to kiss her and sleep with her (the first time) in order to be able to say that he has a girlfriend, as he had just told Michelle. It's with Michelle in mind that he does everything that night (returning Sandra's affection for him).

Furthermore, I believe that in his pursuit of Michelle, he hurts Michelle too by telling her lies about how he thinks Ronald will never leave his family for her (which he does at the end, and Leonard couldn't possibly have guessed the man's thoughts/plans just from that evening), again with the possibility of a romance with Michelle in mind. When he realizes that even in that moment Michelle just won't think of him as anything else than a brother, he calls Sandra back and their relationship becomes official.

In the end, it's a darkly twisted "happy" ending. His hopes with Michelle are dashed but he realizes how the stage is perfectly set for him to slip back into a nice situation without anyone realizing all of the deceit he had been guilty of throughout the film. Except his mother. She knows everything. She had Leonard figured out from the start, yet she loved him deeply and demonstrated great kindness towards him (even if at the expense of Sandra) when she saw him fleeing down the stairs. When he came back, I really expected the last shot of the movie to be a look from her towards Leonard while he's in embrace with Sandra, without Sandra seeing it. It would have been the perfect note to end this great film on in my opinion: leaving open the question of whether she will speak out... to him, to anyone, or to no one.

[–] Jes' Sayin' (6357) 2 years ago

I have doubts that Ronald is really leaving his family for Michelle though. People say a lot of things in those situations, and even if he did tell his wife, that's no guarantee that he will actually follow through.

[–] jmcy (1) 5 years ago

[deleted]

[–] jlam888 (625) 4 years ago

Which shows the honesty of the movie. There are many people like that in the world :-)