Review of Two Days, One Night (2014) by Jessica T — 02 Jan 2015

In "Two Days, One Night," Marion Cotillard ("Rust and Bone," "The Immigrant") plays Sandra, a factory worker about to return to work after recovering from a bout of depression, only to learn she is going to be laid off unless she can convince her colleagues to give up their much-needed bonuses. A secret ballot on Monday morning will decide her fate. In desperation, she visits each one of her coworkers over the weekend to persuade them to vote in her favour.

Stripped of all vanity, Cotillard is a marvel - her performance is achingly raw, honest and heartbreaking. She completely lives and breathes in the skin of her character. Living with anxiety and depression is a heavy weight to carry - one that is often invisible to others - but Cotillard portrays both the weakness and strength of that struggle with unerring veracity.

The premise Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne have devised is simple, but the humanity of the film is striking. The film has an immense empathy for not only Sandra and the avalanche of emotions she has to endure to keep her family out of public housing, but also her colleagues, who have been forced to make an impossible choice: accept the bonus to keep their heads above water or sacrifice it to help someone else in need. Every confrontation explores the moral dilemma of self-preservation versus altruism from different and valid viewpoints. Emotionally resonant and thoughtful, "Two Days, One Night" is a quietly unassuming masterpiece.