The Darney brothers may have outdone themselves in this heartbreaking film; it's set as a typical work-life drama, a typical professional union drama - albeit in this drama , the union is notable for its absence. Marion Cotillard's subtle yet brilliant performance holds up; she's the first A-list star chosen by the Darneys, but never quite like a foreign celebrity relegated to a grim social realism environment. Cotillard looks real and sounds real. This extremely clever performer has found a completely real relationship to the subject matter. This is a passionate, exciting, and heartwarming film—the 21st-century workplace version of Twelve Angry Men. Cotillard plays Sandra, a married woman with children who returns to work in a solar panel factory after a nervous breakdown, only to find that management has actually made her a victim of bureaucratic cowardice. She is the protagonist of "Sophie's No Choice" (Note: Originally titled "Sophie's Choice") offered to other employees. During her absence, they realized they could have done the job without her, so now they're proposing to fire Sandra and make everyone else work harder, each with a bonus of 1,000 euros as a sweetener - saving from a lower salary money to pay. Desperate Sandra forces treacherous employee representative Jean-Marc to vote. Do they want their bonuses, or save their friend and colleague Sandra? Voting was on Monday morning, so Sandra had to travel around the weekend, going door-to-door. She had to endure the agony of begging colleagues to let her go back to work, who desperately needed the "bonus" to make ends meet. If Sandra can get 9 out of 16 votes, she's off the hook -- that is, she's back at the divisive, alienating job that led to this nightmare in the first place. She has nothing to offer her friends and neighbors except despair. As anxiety grew, so did her depression: hyperventilation, throat constriction, and a worrying alprazolam addiction. It's more dangerous than her job. Its importance lies in its title "Weekend" (Note: "Two Days and One Night"). It's everyone's precious time off, time they spend with their families, or time to renovate their home, or time to deal with essential chores, or time to coach their junior soccer team. That's why they work the rest of the week; it's their life. And Sandra was intruding into their lives—and, as she realized, it was making her gut colic. Every family she visited was sad and disturbed. She asked them to sympathize with her, and they asked her to sympathize with them, a sinister choice that led to division and frustration. One colleague burst into tears in sheer self-blame that he didn't stand up for her sooner; others were unhappy and ambiguous. Sandra often fails, leaving behind an argument or a broken marriage, or a fight. Yet she must do so to survive: she must persevere in order to build a consensus that will push public opinion past the tipping point. What she had to lose was her dignity and her composure - which is exactly what the job is supposed to protect. The Darney brothers made a brilliant social realist drama with a real narrative tension that is novel in their work. It's reminiscent of Ken Lodge's "Bread and Roses," in which Adrien Brody plays a union activist who visits buildings to persuade terrified cleaners to unionize: he (at least at first) is a deeply disturbing presence. As for the solar panel company, it appears to have a union, since voting has been mandated, management will comply, but it's a union that governs and regulates the decisions of their superiors, and they certainly aren't strong or united enough to categorically Reject insidious bonus/Sandra choices. But solidarity is the theme of the film: unions, in fact. That's what Sandra, in her broken emotional state, is trying to achieve with a majority in a democratic election. This is another great performance by Cotillard. Restrained and dignified, she seems as small and vulnerable as she did as Edith Piaf; yet, even in the most desperate of circumstances, she radiates determination and strength. Once again, Cotillard shows what a technical actor she is: every nuance and detail on her face is clearly visible. She is convincing and moving, and so is the film. of cleaners unionized: he was (at least at first) a deeply disturbing presence. As for the solar panel company, it appears to have a union, since voting has been mandated, management will comply, but it's a union that governs and regulates the decisions of their superiors, and they certainly aren't strong or united enough to categorically Reject insidious bonus/Sandra choices. But solidarity is the theme of the film: unions, in fact. That's what Sandra, in her broken emotional state, is trying to achieve with a majority in a democratic election. This is another great performance by Cotillard. Restrained and dignified, she seems as small and vulnerable as she did as Edith Piaf; yet, even in the most desperate of circumstances, she radiates determination and strength. Cotillard shows once again what a technical actor she is: every nuance and detail on her face is clearly visible. She is convincing and moving, and so is the film. of cleaners unionized: he was (at least at first) a deeply disturbing presence. As for the solar panel company, it appears to have a union, since voting has been mandated, management will comply, but it's a union that governs and regulates the decisions of their superiors, and they certainly aren't strong or united enough to categorically Reject insidious bonus/Sandra choices. But solidarity is the theme of the film: unions, in fact. That's what Sandra, in her broken emotional state, is trying to achieve with a majority in a democratic election. This is another great performance by Cotillard. Restrained and dignified, she seems as small and vulnerable as she did as Edith Piaf; yet, even in the most desperate of circumstances, she radiates determination and strength. Once again, Cotillard shows what a technical actor she is: every nuance and detail on her face is clearly visible. She is convincing and moving, and so is the film.
View more about Two Days, One Night reviews
