Genre: Drama

Directors: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne

Writers: Jean-Pierre Dardenne, Luc Dardenne

Stars: Marion Cotillard, Fabrizio Rongione, Catherine Salée

Sandra (Cotillard) has just been released from the hospital to find that she no longer has a job. According to management, the only way Sandra can hope to regain her position at the factory is to convince her co-workers to sacrifice their much-needed yearly bonuses. Now, over the course of one weekend, Sandra must confront each co-worker individually in order to win a majority of their votes before time runs out. With TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT, the Dardennes have turned a relevant social inquiry into a powerful statement on community solidarity, once again delivering a film that is simple on the surface but alive with both compassion and wisdom. (C) Sundance Selects

Marion Cotillard is outstanding in Two Days, One Night and worthy of her Oscar nomination. When a small movie like this from IFC (that isn’t their marvelous Boyhood) receives recognition from the Academy, it is a big deal (though it was neglected from the foreign language category) She delivers an incredibly heartbreaking and emotional exhausting performance about a woman so desperate to provide for her family facing the real threat of a layoff. We sympathize with her burdens and it turns into an empathic movie going experience. She is the main focal point and anchor of the movie.

Marion Cotillard is outstanding…she delivers an incredibly heartbreaking and emotionally exhausting performance.

Most Oscar nominated movies with a few nominations are distracted by an overwhelming or exaggerated leading performance, which overshadows everything else. However, Two Days, One Night is a fascinating movie on its own merits. Filmmakers Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne craft a story about working class struggles that had me fully engaged and even on the edge of my seat. This is an impressive thing to happen during a subtitled feature! You wanted to know how each person would respond to her plea. We saw something different even though we heard the same story.

To provide some genuine context to Two Days, One Night, I originally watched this movie at the Starz Denver Film Festival in November, which was two days before my unexpected layoff from a my social media sales job. It was a bitter separation, but I recalled Marion Cotillard’s perseverance and journey almost to be inspiring despite the grim set of circumstances and the harsh reality I faced. Two Days, One Night is a metaphor for the income inequality that has hindered the world, but the economic struggle is real in Europe.

I rate TWO DAYS, ONE NIGHT an 8 out of 10!