5x2

A film that suggests a cross between Bergmans's gut-wrenching "Scenes From a Marriage" (1973) and Stanley Donen's more lighthearted "Two For the Road" (1967), mixed in a bit with that backwards "Seinfeld" episode, "5X2" (2005) is a very fine adult drama from director Francois Ozon. As the title suggests, it is comprised of five short glimpses at the doomed relationship of a handsome professional couple, Marion (Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi) and Gilles (Stephane Freiss). As in "Two For the Road," we see unchronological snapshots of this couple's failing marriage, but unlike the '67 film, rather than being given scattershot scenes from various periods, here we proceed continuously backward in time: from the divorce settlement and its rather icky aftermath, backward to one of the couple's dinner parties, back still to the birth of their premature son, on to their wedding party (and a most unusual wedding night, to put it mildly), and all the way back to one of their first meetings. Our foreknowledge that the couple's marriage is doomed makes the cracks in Marion and Gilles' relationship stand out all the clearer. Consequently, the pretty, upbeat ending is rendered bittersweet at best, with our preglimpse of what their future holds. "5X2" has been finely put together and features sterling acting down to the smallest bit players. It was especially great for me seeing that grand old actor, Michael Lonsdale (who will always be Hugo Drax for us Bond fanatics), still acting at age 74, here playing Marion's father. My only complaint, really, concerning "5X2" is that it is a bit on the short and sketchy side; perhaps a few extra scenes would have enabled us to more fully understand the characters' motivations, particularly Gilles' (and especially his no-show at his son's birth). This, for me, is the only thing that prevents "5X2" from being a perfect 10.

Anyone who knows director Francois Ozon only for his daft musical comedy 'Eight Women' might be rather shocked by the first scene of this movie, a nasty moment of post-marital rape. The film consists of five episodes in a couple's life (hence the title), the obvious point for comparison is Bergman's 'Scenes from a Marriage', and the novelty is that we see the episodes in reverse order. After watching the first one, I was filled with dread at the horrors I would witness thereafter, seeing the poison creep into the relationship, with a growing theme of retrospectively false hope - I thought this would be a very harrowing movie. Instead, none of this happens. Ozon samples the marriage more than tells its full story, many of the scenes hint at the subtle complexity of the relationship between man and wife, but this is not a narrative of destruction, just a collection of snapshots from two lives. There are moments of perception, others seem less adept (I didn't believe the American businessman, for example); but whereas Bergman seemed to show character as destiny, here there's an incidental quality to the plot, and though I enjoyed the movie, ultimately I wasn't quite sure of its point.

The 'reverse chronology' format, that has now been tried and tested a few times, will perhaps one day become as unshockingly acceptable as the more prosaic use of 'flashbacks'. Both involve non-linear storytelling, and both attempt to grab audience attention by time distortions. Flashbacks are now so commonplace within mainstream films that the 'purist' Dogme movement banned them altogether – being so structurally clichéd and rarely justified. So when Ozon's 5 x 2 tells a love story about two people in five chapters, but starting with the last chapter and working forward, is he using a valid artistic device or just being gimmicky? In the opening scene, our loving couple (Marion and Gilles) are finalising the details of their divorce. Afterwards they have a last-fling sexual bout which takes an unpleasant turn. Flipping back scene by scene, we next see them as a loving married and entertaining visitors, chatting away about fidelity and sexual deviance and again we see a slightly unpleasant turn – perhaps the seeds of the divorce that we already know will happen. In each chapter we follow the love story to earlier and earlier stages.

In Irreversible, another French film, the reverse chronology format was used to shock, to take us on a journey from hell to heaven. In Memento it was used to heighten suspense and provide the basic device that the mystery revolved upon – we never knew more than the main character about what had happened before.

In 5 x 2 the effect is to highlight small things that go wrong in a fairly ordinary relationship. If it were a gradual decline from better to worse they might have gone unnoticed, but our starting point being divorce our interest in why things went wrong is perhaps more acute.

The other thing that marks out this slightly unusual film is the remarkable acting range shown by Valeria Bruni Tedeschi (who won Best Actress at the Venice Film Festival for her portrayal of Marion). We see not only an incredible range of emotion but many sides to her character. The finely nuanced performance draws attention to things like the person a woman may be to her husband whilst still have a secret side, or her ability to put on a brave face when crying inside. The observation of a range of emotional and sexual explorations is done with the attention to detail that seems so intrinsic to much French cinema: the characters really seem to feel what is happening as if there is no camera on them at all. Sadly 5 x 2 however may not have the shock value of film like Irreversible or the sugar-candy feelgood factor of films like Amelie: mainstream foreign audiences like their French movies to nevertheless fulfil certain passive entertainment criteria, which this thinking and understated movie obstinately refuses to do.

At 5x2 we see the course of a relationship from end to beginning. The reverse chronology of events is now a well established editing technique which almost always works and intrigues the viewer.

The personalities of both Marion and Gilles are established fairly quickly, but the reasoning behind their actions is usually explained at a later time. In fact, this shows how well written 5x2 is, because throughout all five episodes the characters of the protagonists don't change, their behavior has changed due to actions of the other part.

Both actors deliver high caliber performances and their faces write perfectly on the screen. They do create a chemistry when needed (and a lack of again when needed). Can you believe by the way that beautiful Valeria Bruni is forty years old?

The vintage Italian music adds color to the story and Ozon shows he is an accomplished director. As the movie ends he gives us one of the most idyllic scenes ever filmed.

The reverse chronology brings together what all too often tears us apart, wait it's love, love that tears us apart. Marriage really is a different thing altogether.

The film feels to a degree like flipping through old photographs, nostalgia is a form of pain, right? What was interesting was to see the actors really portraying quite different characters in the five sets, although had I seen the French Remix where the scenes are re-reversed, perhaps it would have all seemed more fated and just an unwrapping of a bitter, broken wedding gift.

I did wonder if the movie was filmed in proper chronological order.

There is something about maid Marion's parents, that is placed on a very tiny pedestal, without much explanation. I found compassion in watching Valerie Bruni-Tedeschi here...while her lesser half did not get much of a fair chance at redemption.

All of us, and all of our partners are flawed. But perhaps not all relationships are fatally flawed. Find someone emotionally compatible and give it a shot, maybe savor the best memories periodically. Good luck...