2 Days in Paris (2007)
Directed by Julie Delpy
Written by Julie Delpy
Starring Julie Delpy, Adam Goldberg, Daniel Bruhl
Release Date May 17th, 2007
Published May 17th, 2007
Julie Delpy, so enchanting opposite Ethan Hawke in Richard Linklater's indelible double feature Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, brings that Linklater influence to her directorial debut 2 Days In Paris. No Sunrise/Sunset clone is this. 2 Days In Paris is similar in theme and content to her influences, but the characters she has created for herself and Adam Goldberg are wholly her own. Smart, funny, sexy and very French 2 Days In Paris unfolds the realistic twists and turns of a couple under the strain of a two year, where is this thing headed, relationship and a cross Europe vacation that concludes with a visit to Paris and a meet the parents situation unlike anything you've ever experienced, I would hope.
Marion (Julie Delpy) and Jack (Adam Goldberg) have been together two years and though they seem happy where they are, a couple can't be together two years without talk of the future looming overhead. They have spent the past two weeks all over Italy on what was supposed to be a romantic vacation. It has been romantic, occasionally, but Jack has been sick and Marion has been looking ahead to her visit home to Paris. They are laying over two days in Marion's old apartment, she keeps it though they live together in New York.
While there Jack will meet Marion's parents, Anna (Marie Pillet) and Jeannot (Albert Delpy, Julie's real father). Meeting the parents is always awkward but when you literally don't speak the language it can be interminable. Then there are Marion's friends, mostly men, some of them ex's. Naturally Jack is a little insecure and these being French men things get a little more uncomfortable, talk of sex is more open and every conversation is rich with flirtation and entirely in French. That language, so romantic sounding that even the most innocuous compliment sounds like poetry.
All of the strain of a foreign vacation, Marion's parents, Marion's past and Jack's insecurities finally comes to a head and we get scenes of exceptionally smart and wrenching dialogue between two people who communicate a depth and history to their relationship without having to explain it. The tiny jokes, the offhand insults, the little things that make a life between two people are the things that director Julie Delpy captures so beautifully. When we arrive at the more difficult conversations, the tough moments, we are not taking sides, rather we are invested in both characters and this relationship as if we had something at stake in them being together. That is exceptional work.
Adam Goldberg is an actor that can be difficult to take. His characters are all the same, neurotic, New Yorkers, constantly angst ridden and on the edge of an angry explosion. In 2 Days in Paris, as familiar as this character is, there is a little more nuance to it. Goldberg is more in control of his tics and mannerisms here than I've seen him before. He's a little more emotional and in touch with his feelings and though he still has that sarcastic armor that is his calling card, it's part of a richer character. As put off by his act as I'm sure some of you are, you will find it fits this character well.
As for the actress Julie Delpy, she is typically magnificent. I'm sure Ms. Delpy has made some bad movies but when she in her element, romance, France, she is ethereal. This character is more complicated and screwed up than the romantic heroine of Before Sunrise and Before Sunset so she must find different ways of getting us to root for her and somehow, even after some major meltdowns and questionable decisions we root for her and wish for her. It's a terrific performance made all the more impressive because she was directing herself.
Talky, provocative, smart and very funny, 2 Days In Paris is one of the movies I wish I would have seen before I listed my best movies of the year. It is that good. The influence of Richard Linklater has done well for Julie Delpy but 2 Days In Paris is her baby and it is quite beautiful. It is soon to be on DVD and you must check it out.
