Academy Award winner Marion Cotillard (“La Vie en Rose”) is nominated again this year in the Best Actress category for her raw and consistently believable performance as Sandra, a wife and mother of two, fighting to keep her job in the Belgian drama “Two Days, One Night”.
That’s all the time Sandra has to find and persuade 16 co-workers at a solar panel company that they should turn-down their bonuses and, instead, vote for Sandra to keep her job. It isn’t going to be easy, since Sandra is just coming back to work after time away battling depression. And many of her co-workers simply can’t afford to pass-up their 1000 Euro bonuses, because they have to take care of their own, struggling families.
At just 95 minutes, “Two Days, One Night” moves-along quickly. There are no major subplots (though at times we feel that something is coming), so the story is just as simple as my plot synopsis. It becomes obvious early in the film that some of the workers will support Sandra and others will not. Nonetheless, the movie is an interesting study of a desperate, possibly unstable woman, pushed to do things she does not want to do.
And it’s Cotillard’s work that elevates the straightforward screenplay. We experience her pain (both physical and mental) and frustration. Her character feels just as bad (if not worse) having to ask others not to take their bonuses as she does for the tough situation she is in.
Other movies have delved into this topic, but none so directly as “Two Days, One Night”, in which we get the portrayal of a woman, who despite her flaws, has the strength and courage to fight for and, ultimately, do what’s right, even if it’s not what’s right for her.
On The Official LCJ Report Card, “Two Days, One Night” gets a B-. It’s no surprise that Cotillard’s nomination is the film’s only Oscar recognition, but her performance alone makes it worth seeing.
Running Time: 95 min.