Amazon.co.uk Review
Julie Delpy, as well as a being a beautiful and talented actress, is a woman of many talents. Want the proof? Then
Two Days In Paris, a warm and distinctly European-feel comedy that she also scripted and directed, is a terrific piece of evidence. It’s one of 2007’s most engaging surprises, too.
Delpy previously co-scripted the wonderful Before Sunset, and Two Days In Paris has a similar feel. The film follows Delpy’s Marion and Adam Goldberg’s Jack as they spend time in the French capital, dealing with the assortment of issues and scenarios it throws up. Given that Marion is French and Jack is American, there are cultural issues that are explored. Yet it’s a character piece at heart, and that’s where the film’s strength lies.
Because the treat with Two Days In Paris is the quality of writing. With dialogue crucial to the film’s success, Delpy’s script generates engaging conversations and characters well worth spending time with. The film itself doesn’t quite scale the heights of the aforementioned Before Sunset, but it’s the film that comes the closest since to doing so.
So if you fancy something a little off the beaten track, where character is crucial, the music is grand and the film never takes a cheap shot, then treat yourself to Two Days In Paris. And keep your eye on Julie Delpy; whether in front of or behind the camera, this is a woman with plenty to offer. --Jon Foster
Synopsis
Julie Delpy's breezily hilarious feature follows French-born Marion (Delpy) and Jack (Adam Goldberg), her American boyfriend (of two years), on a two-day stop through Paris, where Marion has purchased a tiny apartment one floor up from her rowdy, eccentric parents (played with great ability by Delpy's actual parents). Just passing through after an Italian getaway, the lovebirds are unprepared for the many relationship tests soon thrown their way in the notoriously romantic city. Avoiding the metro on account of Jack's terrorism fears, the couple treks about the city by foot and cabs, getting into several vicious brawls with French cabbies, waiters, and a string of men from Marion’s past. When Jack discovers how many of Marion's so called 'friends' she used to be intimate with, the trip becomes overshadowed by paranoia. This suspicion would be easy to brush off if only Jack spoke the language, or if all of Marion's exes didn't insist on multiplying.
Delpy, who penned, directed, and stars in the feature, has created a truly charming film. Thanks to clever writing and great chemistry, Delpy and Goldberg's onscreen relationship feels completely natural and genuine. Delpy saves her characters from being too precious by balancing their entertaining dialogue with human flaws. Though a story with this premise could easily veer off into a typical culture clash comedy,
2 Days in Paris moves past that to explore the problems of relationships at large in a lyrical way. While in the same general vein of the classic talk-heavy Richard Linklater film
Before Sunrise,
2 Days in Paris has more in common with the film's sombre 2004 sequel,
Before Sunset (which Delpy co-wrote). That said, the film counters its thoughtful scenes with lighthearted ones, so it never becomes contrived or bogged down. Like
Before Sunset ,
2 Days in Paris leads up to a whimsical conclusion which is beautiful in its simplicity. The film pulls off what Marion, a photographer, struggles with throughout, torn between the compulsion to capture a moment on film while desiring to be really in the moment itself.
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