5x2 (2004)

User Rating:

6.7/10   

Director:

François Ozon

Writers:

François Ozon (scenario)
Emmanuèle Bernheim (scenario collaborator)

Release Date:

1 September 2004 (Belgium)

Genre:

Drama | Romance

Plot:

Five stages in the romance between a woman and a man.

Plot Keywords:

Divorce | Son | Wedding Night | Dinner Party | Adultery

Awards:

1 win & 2 nominations

Cast

Valeria Bruni Tedeschi	...	Marion (as Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi)
Stéphane Freiss	...	Gilles
Françoise Fabian	...	Monique
Michael Lonsdale	...	Bernard
Géraldine Pailhas	...	Valérie
Antoine Chappey	...	Christophe
Marc Ruchmann	...	Mathieu
Jason Tavassoli	...	L'Américain
Jean-Pol Brissart	...	Le Juge
Eliane Kherris	...	L'avocate
Yannis Belkacem	...	Nicolas
Sylvie Debrun	...	L'échographiste
Jean Neisser	...	Le Maire
Ninon Brétécher	...	Sophie (as Ninon Bretecher)
Marie-Madeleine Fouquet	...	La mère de Gilles

Also Known As:

5 x 2: Five Times Two (Canada: English title) (festival title)
Cinq fois deux (France) (alternative spelling)
Five Times Two (International: English title) (long title)
Nous deux (France) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for strong graphic sexuality, language and some drug content.

Runtime:

90 min

Country:

France

Language:

French | English | Italian

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

1.85 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital | DTS

Certification:

Taiwan:R-18 | Switzerland:16 (canton of Zurich) | Chile:14 | Hungary:16 | Brazil:14 | Canada:18A (Ontario) | South Korea:18 | Japan:R-15 | Germany:16 | Portugal:M/12 | New Zealand:R18 | Czech Republic:18 | Netherlands:12 | Singapore:R21 | Switzerland:14 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:14 (canton of Vaud) | UK:15 | Hong Kong:III | Italy:VM14 | USA:R | Ireland:18 | Sweden:11 | Finland:K-15 | Argentina:16

Filming Locations:

Paris, France

Company:

Fidélité Productions

Trivia:

In the French edition of the DVD, the director offers a version of the movie titled "2 x 5". This version shows the five sequences in the chronological order, from the moment the couple meets till their divorce. Subtle editing work has been applied to make the movie work.

Goofs:

Continuity: During the hotel room scene early in the film, Marion's wedding band changes from the left hand to the right hand, then back to the left again.

Soundtrack:

Theme Piano

Almost A Perfect 10

A film that suggests a cross between Bergmans's gut-wrenching "Scenes From a Marriage" (1973) and Stanley Donen's more lighthearted "Two For the Road" (1967), mixed in a bit with that backwards "Seinfeld" episode, "5X2" (2005) is a very fine adult drama from director Francois Ozon. As the title suggests, it is comprised of five short glimpses at the doomed relationship of a handsome professional couple, Marion (Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi) and Gilles (Stephane Freiss). As in "Two For the Road," we see unchronological snapshots of this couple's failing marriage, but unlike the '67 film, rather than being given scattershot scenes from various periods, here we proceed continuously backward in time: from the divorce settlement and its rather icky aftermath, backward to one of the couple's dinner parties, back still to the birth of their premature son, on to their wedding party (and a most unusual wedding night, to put it mildly), and all the way back to one of their first meetings. Our foreknowledge that the couple's marriage is doomed makes the cracks in Marion and Gilles' relationship stand out all the clearer. Consequently, the pretty, upbeat ending is rendered bittersweet at best, with our preglimpse of what their future holds. "5X2" has been finely put together and features sterling acting down to the smallest bit players. It was especially great for me seeing that grand old actor, Michael Lonsdale (who will always be Hugo Drax for us Bond fanatics), still acting at age 74, here playing Marion's father. My only complaint, really, concerning "5X2" is that it is a bit on the short and sketchy side; perhaps a few extra scenes would have enabled us to more fully understand the characters' motivations, particularly Gilles' (and especially his no-show at his son's birth). This, for me, is the only thing that prevents "5X2" from being a perfect 10.