Two days, one night, no fuss

THE remarkable thing about “Two Days, One Night” is that it looks at some of today’s heftier political issues while seeming as modest and unassuming as a film can. Written and directed by Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne, Belgian brothers who have won two Palmes d’Or at Cannes, it stars Marion Cotillard as Sandra, a low-ranking employee in a low-ranking manufacturing firm. Her bosses are planning to make her redundant, but, rather than take responsibility for the decision, they have presented their staff with a cruel choice: if Sandra’s 16 colleagues vote to forfeit their annual thousand-euro bonuses, she can keep her job. On a Friday afternoon, Sandra learns that the ballot will be held on the Monday morning, leaving her one weekend to persuade her co-workers that her need is greater than theirs.

Despite the presence of its famously glamorous, Oscar-winning star, “Two Days, One Night” looks and feels like a typical Dardenne brothers film. That is, it is a no-frills social-realist drama, shot on location and in natural light, and populated by largely unknown actors. The performances are restrained, the pacing is steady and the action consists of a courteous young woman having short, fairly repetitive conversations with her colleagues in a pleasantly anonymous Belgian suburb.

And yet, as well as being a race-against-the-clock thriller, and a showcase for Ms Cotillard’s astoundingly subtle acting, the Dardennes’ film digs more deeply into the devastating effects of the Western world’s current financial woes than practically any previous feature film. The audience is, of course, eager for Sandra to keep the job which puts a roof over her family’s heads, and which lifts her out of her depression. But when the Dardennes show what goes on behind her colleagues’ front doors, it becomes painfully clear how important their bonuses are to them, too. “It will be a disaster for me if the majority vote for you,” says one. “But I hope for your sake that they do.” It is a complicated, humane idea, expressed with heart-wrenching directness. And there are many more of those in this impressive work.