5X2 Movie Review:


Chameleon filmmaker Ozon goes Bergman on us in this telling drama featuring five scenes from a marriage. Strong filmmaking and acting make each episode come to life, and Ozon refreshingly avoids obvious moralising or explanations, which is no mean feat since the scenes appear in reverse order.

We open with the divorce pronouncement and a final sexual liaison between Marion and Gilles (Bruni-Tedeschi and Freiss)--a difficult confrontation filled with regret and passion. Moving back a few years we're at a strained dinner party with Gilles' brother (Chappey) and his young boyfriend (Ruchmann). Earlier we visit them on the strange day their son is born, on their joyous wedding day and on the holiday where they met. At each stage we see the blend of light/shadow and past/present that make up every relationship.

From the melancholy opening, Ozon sets an introspective tone that draws us in. The characters don't say much, and when they do there's a strong subtext that lets us see inside them. Despite the undercurrent of sadness, Ozon manages to inject a strong sense of hope, as well as a reminder that even if a relationship ends in pain, the earlier happiness was still real. And worth remembering.

Bruni-Tedeschi and Freiss have strong chemistry that makes the relationship believable and helps us identify with them at each stage. These are complex people, likable and deeply flawed--their interactions with each other and with others are extremely telling (including Fabian and Lonsdale as Marion's parents, Pailhas as Gilles' ex, and Tavassoli as a mysterious American). And since they play each scene with such subtlety, we are constantly revising what appears to be happening based on new information we get later.

With characters this strong, Ozon is free to make a film that feels both authentic and slightly gimmicky. As it progresses, we begin to understand these people without getting a movie-like explanation of why their marriage falls apart. There are moments that are powerfully passionate and sexy, achingly awkward, quietly intimate, and disturbing and sympathetic at the same time. In each scene, both characters do things that are tender and cruel, which is so like real life that it's almost hard to watch.



Rich Cline

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