Deux jours, une nuit

Imagine trying to recover from depression only to discover that your illness was in danger of costing you your job; or worse, that in your absence your boss had asked your colleagues to vote for retaining you, or receiving their annual bonus. Imagine then having to visit those colleagues and beg them not to vote for you to lose your livelihood. This is the grim scenario for the Dardenne brothers' film 'Two Days, One Night', whose strength lies in the fact that nothing is presented in an overly melodramatic fashion: it's a simple, hard story of people doing what they have to do, as best as they are able. In a a way, it's also the film's weakness: in a moment of inner despair, the lead character overdoses, but it's so internalised that the incident is strangely quiet and unremarkable. But overall, the film is a telling exploration of the scope, and limits, of human solidarity; and the ending is a nice mixture of the positive and the realistic.

It's as low key and quiet as a film can get. It's not enhanced for comedy, action, or drama. Just a realistic human story of the basic struggle to make ends meet in this world.

It's the type of movie that separates the movie geeks from the film geeks.

As a film geek, I can appreciate how the filmmakers did so much with so little, especially actress,Marion Cotillard.

The movie counts on her being realistic, all the way down to the weight it looks like she lost in order to play a woman who just got over an illness, and in order to get her job back spends a weekend visiting her coworkers in order to convenience them to vote for her to get her job back in a secret ballet on Monday, over a big bonus they would all get if she stays laid-off. She had to be believable as a proud woman who did not want to ask her coworkers of this, she did not want their pity, but she needed to support her family, a situation all of her coworkers are also in. It's a truly unbalanced and unfair situation for everyone and Marion did an excellent job portraying how uncomfortable that is.

As a movie geek, though the movie was watered down with absolutely no sugar, I'm glad it was not boring. It helps that the subject is something almost everyone who has a job in this economy can relate to, no matter which side of the equation you're on.

Definitely the type of picture we'll all be discussing long after the film is over. '

A film is not about it's ending alone, especially not this one. The film is extra ordinarily realistic and simple. Marion Cotillard's acting just blew me away. If it was any other actress, I doubt that it would be interesting to stare at the same person for the entire length of the film. Loved every moment of it.

Use of natural light, long takes, lose head camera are all supposed to give you a boring film if you are used to the Hollywood style. But, just having a great script and Marion is enough to make any film special. Thanks for making this film. Short and sweet, That's this film. A story I could totally relate to. She made me cry.

The heart of this film does not lie in the simple plot, but in the portrayal of a woman, and her family, struggling with depression and the prospect of losing everything.

After coming out the other side of an apparently lengthy battle with depression, Sandra (Cotillard) faces the prospect of losing her job if she cannot convince the majority of her colleagues to forgo a €1,000 bonus in favour of her staying with the company. One by one, she reaches out the her co-workers in the hope that she can convince them to vote for her to stay. On the whole, it is not these interactions that steal the show, but Sandra's own personal struggles with having to ask. The guilt she feels, pleading with people to give up money that most of them desperately need in order for her to keep a job she's not been at for months, coupled with her on-going struggles with depression and her own demons. Cotillard's performance is exceptional throughout, her frustration and upset so believable that it's easy to forget that this an actress playing a role. Anyone who has been affected by depression, either personally or indirectly, will find large portions of the film relatable and harrowing.

A strong supporting cast and a truly moving script complete this understated gem of a movie.

I heard nothing about Two Days, One night before I decided to check it out on Netflix, and I must say that this is one of the best foreign films I have seen in a while. Actually it's just one of the best films I've seen in a while.

Two Days, One night tells us a story of a woman's desperate attempts to persuade her co-workers into making a very important decision that determines her future. The story focuses on human nature and our ability to give something up for someone we barely know. It feels incredibly intimate and human throughout and there were times where the emotions were so raw that I kept forgetting that I'm just watching a film. It felt so real and I really wanted to see this character succeed, mainly because her character was so well acted. The plot is very simple but there is a wavering sense of unpredictability and even tension as we watch this desperation-fueled journey unfold. The main plot line sets off many little strings of other interactions that I would never have saw coming, making this a unique and highly enjoyable first viewing.

The acting all around was fantastic. Our main character, played by Marion Cotillard, was emotionally broken and this actress did an amazing job showing it. She covered so much range in her performance that I simply could not keep my eyes off her, for more than just the obvious reason. She was excellently formed as we constantly see her entire demeanor and mannerism change after every character interaction. She reacted realistically in a way that made me feel very immersed within the film's story and narrative. I greatly wanted to see this character succeed at her goal, and if she had not been as well acted, I definitely would not have cared as much. Another great thing about Two Days, One Night, besides the excellent acting, is that we can all relate to it's personal and socially accurate storytelling.

Our character is seen asking many individuals to make quite a large sacrifice. The great thing is that we all know what this feels like. So we can place ourselves in the shoes of either character and feel incredibly attached to the story. This constant feeling of immersion and realism felt absolutely perfect and there was not one second where I felt like the film dragged or included an unnecessary scene. I enjoyed every second of it and I really didn't want it to end. But when that time did come, it felt extremely satisfying and understandable. There was no complex enigmatic riddle to solve or deep metaphor with infinite possible meanings to interpret. The ending was just as meaningful without any of these things.

I thoroughly enjoyed Two Days, One Night. It tells an interesting story that could very well happen to anyone. It was involving, emotionally raw, and just fantastically human.