TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT (A-minus) - Marion Cotillard is amazing in the latest gem from Belgium's Dardenne Brothers as a depressed woman fighting to save her job by having to convince 16 co-workers to forgo their bonuses and vote to keep her on staff.
Cotillard, looking plain and wispy with little makeup, is Sandra, who has been on medical leave recovering from what apparently was a nervous breakdown. She still pops Xanax like Tic-Tacs, but she insists she's well enough to return to work. However, the company found out it could get by without her (through overtime and a short-term contract worker) and the supervisor took a poll of her co-workers, in which they overwhelmingly chose to accept 1,000-euro bonuses at the expense of letting Sandra go.
As a plot device, it's not without a hint of contrivance, but this is Belgium, so it's not out of the realm of possibility, and as the film evolves it actually starts to make some sense. A friend of Sandra's has convinced the big boss to allow another vote on Monday, so Sandra has the weekend to convince the majority of her co-workers to give up that promised bonus and vote her back in.
And that's the bulk of the action in this 95-minute study of capitalism and human nature. Cotillard is just powerful here. Clad in a salmon-colored tank top, skinny jeans, and cool boots, she tracks most of the co-workers down at their homes, with various results. It wouldn't be so difficult if she weren't so fragile that she struggles to keep her depression in check, lucky to make it a few hours without crying.
It's a simple story, with a low hum of purely human drama. Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne have written and directed some of the best films of the past dozen years -- "The Son," "The Infant," "The Silence of Lorna" and "The Kid With a Bike." This is their first time working with a movie star, but their signature style remains intact -- close, over-the-shoulder camerawork, following a lead character struggling with emotional pain.
Here, Sandra has a devoted husband, as well as a good friend, to push her throughout the weekend to not give up. The outcome remains in doubt till the end, with an understated twist at the climax. This movie would have been possible without Cotillard's powerful performance, but I can't imagine falling for this film without her magnetic presence transcending movie stardom.
IN BLOOM (B+) - Another compact drama (at 102 minutes), writer/director Nana Ekvtimishvili (with co-director Sam Gross) delves into the coming-of-age genre, this one following two teenage girls in Soviet Georgia in 1992 in the lawless aftermath of the breakup of the Soviet Union.
Eka (Lika Babluani, below right) is a 14-year-old plain jane who misses her father, who is doing prison time for an offense that becomes apparent as the film unfolds. Her (slightly older?) pal is Natia (Mariam Bokeria, below left), who gets the boys' attention, including that of the creepy Kote (Zurab Gogaladze), who is intent on marrying her. But Natia has a tender rapport with Lado (Data Zakareishvili), who gives her a gun (paging Chekov) early in the proceedings, so she can protect herself. She and Eka take turns as the weapon's caretaker.
Meantime, Eka and Natia bond over their respective troubled households (Natia's father is an abusive drunk). The girls get harassed by street punks and scuffle with elders in the bread lines, and Natia can't shake Kote, who uses muscle to get her to the altar.
Babluani is riveting as Eka, holding the film's center with her repressed adolescent angst and longing. Bokeria has a Katie Holmes cuteness mixed with the edge of a young Charlotte Rampling. They effortless carry this film, which is a moving, quiet slice of life.
BONUS TRACKS
The French version of "Needles and Pins," by Petula Clark, featured in the middle of the Dardenne brothers' movie:
And, of course, the perfect original:
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