Marion Cotillard shines in the Dardenne brothers’ Two Days, One Night (Deux jours, une nuit), a social drama that played In Competition at Cannes 2014. She won Best Actress from The New York Film Critics Circle (for this and The Immigrant) and from the European Film Awards.
In a Belgian town, Sandra (Cotillard) returns to her working class job after a bout of depression, only to discover that her boss gave co-workers a choice – make Sandra redundant or lose their 1,000 euro bonuses. It turns out that 14 of 16 opted for the former. Her only hope is another vote on Monday. With the support of her husband (Fabrizio Rongione), she has the weekend to convince seven co-workers to change their minds.
Long tracking shots cling to Sandra, while the soundtrack is music-free, except for the delightful eruption of Petula Clark’s “La Nuit n’en finit plus” and Van Morrison’s “Gloria.” The film is written/directed by Belgium’s Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, Palme d’Or winners for L‘enfant (2005) and Rosetta (1999).
The film is in French with English subtitles.
Two Days, One Night is being released in Canada by Mongrel Media.
El Kiosko Magazine 