Review of Two Days, One Night (2014) by Reece L — 31 Dec 2014

Marion Cotillard completely owns her role as a desperate young mother in "Deux jours, une nuit," a competent, low-key working class drama by the Dardenne brothers. While the Dardennes have hit festival success before by depicting the everyday lives of the unfortunate, they really outdo themselves this time with a shamelessly undramatic story that exhibits the most twisted aspects of our times.

Cotillard skillfully abandons Hollywood stardom and portrays completely relatable everywoman Sandra who has recently been off work for months due to a case of serious depression. One Friday afternoon she finds out that the management of her company has decided they can continue without her, as they did during her absence, by dividing the extra work between the other 16 employees. Her colleagues have been offered the choice between losing their 1000 euro bonus- very significant compared to their earnings- and of letting her go. In an open vote only 3 people have opted to keep Sandra. The manager agrees to hold a closed ballot on Monday morning. Sandra has one weekend to go over her colleagues- whom she doesn't know very well- and convince them to choose her employment over their own bonus.

I'm uncertain as to how one is supposed to view the film. The idea of an employer legally forcing a decision between a personal bonus and the employment of a colleague on workers seems ludicrous, as does the idea of the workers not revolting against it or- even with the support of the group- being able to publically and actively choose even a big amount of money over the security of another person's family. Is the film supposed to be an allegory of what every person living in a developed country is passively doing all the time, or could these events actually take place somewhere? Not in a healthy work community, but people usually don't have the luxury of choosing a healthy workplace over any workplace nowadays.

"Deux jours, une nuit" is mostly a repetitive procession of scenes between Sandra and her colleagues. But not for one moment does the film turn tedious. Cotillard's restrained performance is extremely convincing and all the scenes work well, avoiding melodrama completely yet enchanting the viewer with their sense of authenticity. Some dramatic tension arises from seeing Sandra's recently-recovered psyche approaching its quiet breaking point- which is being caused as well as used as an argument against her by her employer. The absolute humiliation of the repeated begging she must go through is painful to watch, the slight but crucial distance between the beggar and her subjects poignant. The glimpses we get into the weekends of all the people Sandra visits tell stories of their own, stories of desperations perhaps less immediate but as real as that of the protagonist.