At the Movies: "Two Days, One Night"

Today I ventured to the Music Box Theater--one of my favorite places in Chicago--for a matinee screening of Two Days, One Night. Metacritic notes that Two Days has earned "universal acclaim," and I know why.

Marion Cotillard plays Sandra, a Belgian mother who takes leave from work to deal with depression. Upon recovering she learns she will be laid off from her industrial job; the managers have determined that the work can get done with one less person. But Sandra has one last chance--the boss agrees that if she can convince a majority of her colleagues to part with their annual bonus (1,000 euros) she can keep her job.

And so Sandra, often accompanied by her husband Manu (Fabrizio Rongione), spends a frantic weekend rounding up support. Most of her colleagues had previously voted for the bonus at Sandra's expense, so she has an uphill battle. She tracks almost everyone down (16 people total) at their homes, and if they are not at home goes to wherever they might be (the soccer field, the laundromat, the cafe).

This is politicking at its most raw and elemental, rounding up votes to save one's job. It's an impossible, unfair position to be in. Sandra never lies but shades the story based on who she's speaking to. Sometimes she'll say whose support she has enlisted, but once--facing a tougher audience--she demurs, noting that it will be a secret ballot. Many people want to know how many other people have already agreed to give up their bonus, seeking strength in numbers to do the decent thing. Some people who say they cannot give up their bonus have their reasons and are polite about it, beacuse their own budgets depend on these funds. Others are not polite at all.

One pleasure of the film is observing the scenery of the quaint Belgian town of Seraing. It's a beautiful town, roiling with tensions underneath. That is always the case, of course, but here we see that plainly.

Another strength of the film is the way the story gradually unfolds. The boss claims he needs to lay Sandra off due to fierce competition from Asia, but later we learn that many workers are earning overtime pay. So all this talk of global capitalistic forces may just be a cover story for bias against people with depression.

That's how I see it anyway. Other interpretations of these capitalistic forces are certainly possible. What everyone should agree on is the brilliance of Cotillard's performance. She imbues a great dignity to Sandra's impossible quest, embodying the shame and heartache that anyone would feel in such a position. There are great moments of levity too, as well as a redemptive (if somewhat unlikely) resolution. Cotillard's is standout performance in a film about how to balance our self-interest with concern for others.