While I am not the biggest fan of foreign language films, I am the first to admit that when a foreign movie is excellent, you get to the point where you don’t even notice you are reading subtitles anymore. You become so gripped by the film that it’s not just a great foreign film you are watching… but rather a great film. However, on the flip side, when a foreign film is terrible, it tends to drag and drag and drag. Part of that reason is that you’ve tuned out the movie so much that you have no idea where you are in the film when you do glance back. As a result, it becomes a dreadful movie experience. Almost all the foreign films I watch are recommended to me. Rarely will I be perusing Netflix, seeing a movie, and adding it to my queue because it’s a “foreign movie.” I am far more likely to skip a film with subtitles than to watch it. As a result, I rarely find a foreign film to be mediocre. I usually end up either liking the movie a ton or feeling like I just wasted two hours of my life. There are, of course, exceptions to the rule, and that is precisely what Two Days, One Night is. It is a mediocre movie in every sense. It had nothing to do with it being a foreign film. Had it not had subtitles, it would have been equally mediocre.
This movie, which earned Marion Cotillard (Inception, Contagion) a Best Performance by an Actress in a Leading Role Academy Award nomination, didn’t do very well at the American Box Office (just $1.7 million domestically). Still, it resonated with critics (97% fresh on Rotten Tomatoes). While Cotillard’s performance was good and was my sole reason for watching this film, I didn’t think it was one of the five best performances of 2014. While 2014 was a down year in this category, Jennifer Aniston’s performance in Cake was much more deserving. Cotillard’s performance was not bad; it just was not one of the five best.
The story is as simple a story as you’ll find. Sandra (Cotillard) has been released from her job after an extended stay at a hospital, where she received treatment for depression and anxiety. The married mother of two worked at a small Belgian solar panel factory when she learns that she was being laid off, effective immediately. While Sandra was away from her job, her boss realized he could maintain his production schedule with one fewer employee. Since Sandra had the highest rate of illness-related absenteeism, she was the obvious choice. So he puts it up for a vote with the other 14 employees. In exchange for their vote to release Sandra, each employee is promised a bonus. However, the group’s foreman pressures the group to take the bonuses. Frantically, Sandra finds her boss before he goes home for the weekend. After some back-and-forth, he tells her that if she can get the majority (9 out of 16) of the others to change their votes by returning their bonuses, he will give Sandra her job back. Unfortunately, only two of the 16 voted to keep Sandra employed at the first vote.
So the movie is really about Sandra going to each of these 14 other people over the course of the weekend and pleading with them to change their vote. In itself, that isn’t very exciting. And, in all honesty, it was as drab as that at times. But other times, it was compelling. The movie did best at showing the internal struggle Sandra faced when every part of her wanted to give up, but she had to swallow her pride and beg these people to change their vote. She understands what they would be giving up, and it’s tough to ask them to give up something she might not be willing to do in a similar situation.
The movie tries to spotlight the effects of depression, anxiety, and mental health disorders on a person. This is an essential issue in today’s society, and many more successful movies have done so. These include Rachel Getting Married, Silver Linings Playbook, Brothers, Girl, Interrupted, Jacob’s Ladder, etc. Unfortunately, this movie was too light on these topics and became dialogue-driven. These movies aren’t always the best, and Two Days, One Night does its best to showcase that.
All in all, this was a very average film. I think you would do well in picking something other than this to watch.
Plot 6.5/10 (I’m okay with storylines that don’t crush your mind, but this was even too simple for me)
Character Development 7.5/10
Character Chemistry 8.5/10
Acting 7/10 (nothing out of the ordinary…Cotillard’s performance was overrated)
Screenplay 7/10
Directing 7/10
Cinematography 8/10
Sound 7/10
Hook and Reel 7/10
Universal Relevance 8/10
73.5%
D+
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