There was a time in our society when we could still believe in the power of the underdog, and in the large-scale triumphs represented in uplifting films like “Norma Rae” and “Erin Brockovich.” But as the economic inequality gap continues to widen and corporations run amok and unchecked, we find ourselves settling for stories where merely surviving feels like a big win.
In “Two Days, One Night,” Sandra (Marion Cotillard) isn’t out to unionize a factory or to expose environmental disaster; she just wants her job back. After Sandra took a sick leave to treat her depression, her bosses noticed that 16 employees could do the work of 17, provided they work a little overtime. Given the choice between a 1,000-euro bonus or keeping Sandra on, her co-workers opted for the bonus.
Learning that the foreman lied and said that if Sandra didn’t get laid off, another employee would, Sandra’s friend Juliette (Catherine Salée) convinces their boss to take another secret ballot on Monday to decide Sandra’s fate, giving Sandra the weekend to find her colleagues at home so she can plead her case.
For most of those employees, the choice inflicted upon them by the bosses puts them in a bind; they don’t necessarily want to see Sandra fired, but they sure could use that bonus. For her part, Sandra isn’t exactly dying to plead for her job over and over again; she’s prone to crying jags and Xanax-popping, and it’s only the support of Juliette, Sandra’s husband Manu (Fabrizio Rongione) and other workplace supporters that get the emotionally fragile Sandra through the weekend.
Written and directed by acclaimed Belgian filmmakers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, “Two Days, One Night” takes a damning look at how the modern economy handles the working class without ever overstating the case. These directors favor long takes, minimal music and naturalist settings, and they allow character and place to tell a story so that the dialogue doesn’t always have to. Cotillard is the first international movie star to appear in one of their films, but they haven’t slicked up their style at all to accommodate her presence.
Some awards pundits are praising Cotillard’s “bravery” for making a movie in which she wears no makeup, as though that were akin to, say, Charlize Theron’s metamorphosis for “Monster.” (Granted, Sandra’s visible-bra-straps-under-tank-top look is miles away from Cotillard’s usual red-carpet chic.) Cotillard’s performances have often held me at a distance, but not this time; she conveys both Sandra’s vulnerability and her ultimate dogged determination without overplaying either, and it’s some of her most absorbing work yet.
The supporting cast is a mix of Dardenne regulars like Rongione and non-professionals (who reflect the ethnic and gender diversity of a factory environment), and they make each of Sandra’s visits a fascinating little vignette that’s part of a larger plot.
The ending is too perfect to be discussed here, except that it should be taught in screenwriting classes as an example of how to reflect terrible circumstances while still giving your protagonist — and your audience — a break. It’s both brutal and redemptive, and it never violates the film’s surgical examination of proletarian exploitation by slapping a big red bow on it.
The chasm of the wealth gap and the slow destruction of the middle class should matter to us all, and films like “Two Days, One Night” remind us of the human faces affected by corporate greed.
Golden Globes 2015: The Nominees (Photos)
Best Motion Picture -- Drama: "Boyhood" (pictured), "Foxcatcher," "The Imitation Game," "Selma," "The Theory of Everything"
Best Director -- Motion Picture: Wes Anderson, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"; Eva DuVernay, "Selma"; David Fincher, "Gone Girl"; Alejandro Gonzalez Iñárritu, "Birdman"; Richard Linklater (pictured), "Boyhood"
Best Screenplay -- Motion Picture: Wes Anderson, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"; Gillian Flynn (pictured), "Gone Girl"; Alejandro González Iñárritu, Nicolás Giacobone,Alexander Dinelaris & Armando Bo, "Birdman"; Richard Linklater, "Boyhood"; Graham Moore, "The Imitation Game"
Best Performances by an Actor in a Motion Picture -- Drama: Steve Carell, "Foxcatcher"; Benedict Cumberbatch, "The Imitation Game"; Jake Gyllenhaal, "Nightcrawler"; David Oyelowo (pictured), "Selma"; Eddie Redmayne, "The Theory of Everything"
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture – Drama: Jennifer Aniston (pictured), "Cake"; Felicity Jones, "The Theory of Everything"; Julianne Moore, "Still Alice"; Rosamund Pike, "Gone Girl"; Reese Witherspoon, "Wild"
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture: Patricia Arquette, "Boyhood"; Jessica Chastain (pictured), "A Most Violent Year"; Keira Knightley, "The Imitation Game"; Emma Stone, "Birdman"; Meryl Streep, "Into the Woods"
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Motion Picture: Robert Duvall, "The Judge"; Ethan Hawke, "Boyhood"; Edward Norton, "Birdman"; Mark Ruffalo (pictured), "Foxcatcher"; J.K. Simmons, "Whiplash"
Best Motion Picture -- Comedy or Musical: "Birdman" (pictured), "The Grand Budapest Hotel," "Into the Woods," "Pride," "St. Vincent"
Best Performance by an Actor in a Motion Picture – Comedy or Musical: Ray Fiennes, "The Grand Budapest Hotel"; Michael Keaton, "Birdman"; Bill Murray (pictured), "St. Vincent"; Joaquin Phoenix, "Inherent Vice"; Christoph Waltz, "Big Eyes"
Best Performance by an Actress in a Motion Picture -- Comedy or Musical: Amy Adams (pictured), "Big Eyes"; Emily Blunt, "Into the Woods"; Helen Mirren, "The Hundred-Foot Journey"; Julianne Moore, "Maps to the Stars"; Quvenzhané Wallis, "Annie"
Best Animated Feature: “Big Hero 6," "Book of Life," "Boxtrolls," "How to Train Your Dragon 2," "The Lego Movie" (pictured)
Best Foreign Language Film: "Force Majeure Turist" (Sweden), "Gett: The Trival of Viviane" (Israel), "Ida" (Poland/Denmark), "Leviathan" (Russia, pictured), "Tangerines" (Estonia)
Best Original Song – Motion Picture: “Big Eyes” – “Big Eyes”; “Glory” – “Selma”; “Mercy Is” – “Noah”; “Opportunity” – “Annie”; “Yellow Flicker Beat” – “The Hunger Games, Mockingjay – Part 1” (pictured)
Best Original Score – Motion Picture: Alexander Desplat, “The Imitation Game”; Yohan Yohanson, “The Theory of Everything”; Trent Reznor (pictured), “Gone Girl”; Anthoy Sanchez, “Birdman”; Hans Zimmer, “Interstellar”
Best Television Series -- Drama: "The Affair," "Downton Abbey," "Game of Thrones," "The Good Wife," House of Cards" (pictured)
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series -- Drama: Claire Danes, "Homeland"; Viola Davis (pictured), "How to Get Away with Murder"; Julianna Margulies, "The Good Wife"; Ruth Wilson, "The Affair"; Robin Wright, "House of Cards"
Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series -- Drama: Clive Owen, "The Knick"; Liev Schreider, "Ray Donovan"; Kevin Spacey, "House of Cards"; James Spader, "The Blacklist"; Dominic West (pictured), "The Affair"
Best Television Series -- Comedy or Musical: "Girls," "Transparent" (pictured) "Jane the Virgin," "Orange Is the New Black," "Silicon Valley"
Best Performance by an Actress in a Television Series -- Comedy or Musical: Lena Dunham, "Girls"; Edie Falco, "Nurse Jackie"; Julia Louis-Dreyfus, "Veep"; Gina Rodriguez (pictured), "Jane the Virgin"; Taylor Schilling, "Orange Is the New Black"
Best Performance by an Actor in a Television Series -- Comedy or Musical: Louis C.K., "Louie"; Don Cheadle (pictured), "House of Lies"; Ricky Gervais, "Derek"; William H. Macy, "Shameless"; Jeffrey Tambor, "Transparent"
Best Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television: "Fargo," "The Missing," "The Normal Heart," "True Detective" (pictured), "Olive Kitteridge"
Best Performance by an Actress in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television: Maggie Gyllenhaal (pictured), "The Honorable Woman"; Jessica Lange, "American Horror Story: Freak Show," Frances McDormand, "Olive Kitteridge"; Frances O'Connor, "The Missing"; Allison Tolman, "Fargo"
Best Performance by an Actor in a Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television: Martin Freeman (pictured), "Fargo"; Woody Harrelson, "True Detective"; Matthew McConaughey, "True Detective"; Mark Ruffalo, "The Normal Heart"; Billy Bob Thornton, "Fargo"
Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television: Uzo Aduba (pictured), "Orange Is the New Black"; Kathy Bates, "American Horror Story: Freak Show"; Joanne Froggatt, "Downton Abbey"; Allison Janney, "Mom"; Michelle Monaghan, "True Detective"
Best Performance by an Actor in a Supporting Role in a Series, Mini-Series or Motion Picture Made for Television: Matt Bomer (pictured), "The Normal Heart"; Alan Cumming, "The Good Wife"; Colin Hanks, "Fargo"; Bill Murray, "Olive Kitteridge"; Jon Voight, "Ray Donovan"
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Take a look at the stars who might be accepting a Golden Globe when the annual ceremony thrown by the Hollywood Foreign Press Association airs on Jan. 11
Best Motion Picture -- Drama: "Boyhood" (pictured), "Foxcatcher," "The Imitation Game," "Selma," "The Theory of Everything"
Written and directed by acclaimed Belgian filmmakers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, “Two Days, One Night” takes a damning look at how the modern economy handles the working class without ever overstating the case. These directors favor long takes, minimal music and naturalist settings, and they allow character and place to tell a story so that the dialogue doesn’t always have to. Cotillard is the first international movie star to appear in one of their films, but they haven’t slicked up their style at all to accommodate her presence.
