TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT written and directed by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, with Marion Cotillard and Fabrizio Rongione. A Mongrel Media release. 92 minutes. Subtitled. Opens Friday (January 16). For venues and times, see Movies. Rating: NNNNN
Where to watch: Netflix, iTunes
The Dardennes chisel out yet another excellent working-class drama, this time with the magnificent Marion Cotillard at the fore.
Her Sandra is struggling with depression and has just received word that co-workers voted to eliminate her factory job in order to save their bonus. While her initial reaction is to drown her sorrows in pills, her husband and friends insist that she convince her colleagues to have a change of heart.
Sandra’s door-to-door pleading makes up the time span of the title, but her appeal for socialism eventually takes a back seat to her furious private struggle against mental illness, beautifully conveyed in Cotillard’s quivering face and resigned posture.
This is a powerful, minimalist film about rallying self-worth in a dehumanizing economy.
