Two Days, One Night
This is not an action movie. I wouldn’t even try this film
unless if you have some taste for very realistic cinema.
That being said, there is rich food for thought here for
those who make the effort. Two Days, One
Night is a French film that depicts the awkward journey of a young mom who needs to fight to save
her job by convincing her co-workers to vote against a large bonus in order to
keep her position. In that predicament we see the direct economic relationship
between people faced and discussed in a way that is usually avoided. A
wonderful book from a few decades ago was E.F. Schumacher’s Small is Beautiful. The subtitle was Economics as if People Mattered. This
movie is about people being forced to face the truth that people matter – and that
self-interest comes with a real cost, even while that self-interest is
portrayed without condemnation (for the most part).
Perhaps the best part of the film is its suggestion that solidarity
may even matter more emotionally than economically. And this is portrayed very
well in the main actors and the directing. Even the long takes of Marion
Cotillard simply walking resolutely down the streets, trying against the odds
(and her own expectations) to change her future, say a lot.
I have to say that along with the slow pace of the film
there are some other weaknesses – a couple of scenes in particular didn’t work
for me as they seemed quite unrealistic in the midst of a film geared toward
realism. But I’ll give Two Days, One
Night a solid *** and a mug up.
So it seems strange that I liked this film more than you did and yet it made your top ten.
ReplyDeleteI thought there were scenes and the entire premise that lacked some credibility, but the film was so cleverly written and the thoughts so important that I can forgive that. The acting was generally excellent and even the hand held camera work didn't bother me, perhaps because of the realism. Thoroughly satisfying film, especially the ending. This gets a solid ***+ verging on **** from me. It might have made my top fifteen last year. Another two mugs up.
It's true - and I probably should have given it ***+. The trouble is that the hospital scene, in particular, was so inappropriately done that it was hard to forgive. And the scene singing in the car... the director needed to push the actors to do that a little more convincingly. But that one I could forgive (it was just a little cringeworthy).
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