Valérie Donzelli’s ‘Just the Two of Us’ is a throwback to the stereotyped movies focused on women in the 30s and 40s such as ‘Letter from an Unknown Woman’, ‘Stella Dallas’, ‘Possessed’, and ‘Kitty Foyle’. These movies were more focused on a woman’s perspective and dealt with nerve-wracking topics such as exploitation, single motherhood, money and relationships, and complicated gender roles. Women in these movies such as Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, and Barbara Stanwyck played an enormous role in helping people deal with the emotions these movies stirred. Although the plots of the movies were a bit far-fetched, the emotions were quite realistic. Nowadays, as during the callous R, bravado melodrama has always been derided as ‘soapy’ (which still holds some truth) or shallow. But, as with other genres, it can rarely, but sometimes bring social and political criticism. As promoted the movie ‘Just the Two of Us is a thriller. This is not quite true. The movie is a beautifully captured melodrama, of everyday life for women: being in a relationship with a domineering abusive man. But I am not saying it’s sarcastic, pompous, or over-the-top: it’s simply good storytelling.
Blanche (Virginie Efira) attends a party in her hometown of Normandy where she meets Grégoire (Melvil Poupaud) who pours out his charm on her. Grégoire lives her, and this whirlwind moment blinds her from seeing the possible ramifications of such intimacy. Rose, Blanche’s twin, finds this concerning, but her mother is more of a romantic and a dreamer. Things are different for Blanche, and for the first time, she is truly happy. Barely has she had time to think of the possibilities that lay ahead when she and Grégoire become wed, and move away to a location far across Normandy, where Grégoire accepts a high-paying job. This is all exhilarating for her. But things do come to an unfortunate end, and Grégoire ends up indulging in some deplorable behavior.
Grégoire apparently does not allow space even for work. While Grégoire is not physically present, he demands explanations regarding her activities. He claims that only one car is enough for the family, which makes Blanche rely on the bus to go to work enabling him to manage her better. He openly despises Blanche’s friendship with Rose if not for anything, it irritates him that they are twins. There’s a portion of Blanche’s heart that he can never possess, this infuriates him. Later on, they go on to have 2 kids, and Blanche, after bearing those slight annoyances for what seems like forever, on a fine day, accepts her reality and sees herself as a caged bird. She starts viewing him in an unfavourable manner. And she feels scared.
Within a few years, the Belgian-French actress Virginia Efira has established herself as a dominant presence in the drama movie scene in France. The last few years have been particularly praiseworthy, featuring “Madeleine Collins”, “Revoir Paris” and Paul Verhoeven’s “Benedetta” all in one go. She received the César Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role for “Revoir Paris” and has received other six nominations. This all happened within a decade which is outstanding considering the background from which the extremely classic Efira hails. She was a stunning blonde who worked as a weather lady or even hosted television games. She made her on-screen debut in comedic and romance genres but qualified more as an actress bestriding the more serious and sensitive themes, which came as a surprise. Paul Verhoeven discovered it when he cast her in the role of the wife of a rapist in ‘Elle’.
She has acquired the leading role. Directors are well aware that she is the main character, and the entire movie is going to revolve around her. Her affect is everything and it’s remarkable how she goes about trying to hide them be it when she is being sexual or sad or being happy. There’s always something going on in her head, she’s always working on something. Even the slightest alteration in her internal environment alters her external appearance. As an audience, I believe that’s a better way of telling a story because you do not have the story served to you. The story is told through her eyes, her clenched jaw, and her smile. This also reminds me of Steven Spielberg’s remark, where he mentions his favorite part of movies is watching the person’s thought process.
“Revoir Paris” depicts a woman in a pursuit to regain sanity after suffering from trauma. Efira’s post-traumatic out-of-body experience is something which is highly noticeable. Although she cannot verbalize her emotions, she does not have to at all. The same is true, even more extremely so, in the case of “Just the Two of Us,” timeline is watching a woman who is us: she begins by ‘melting in the arms of her new lover’ and ends up as an ‘overly hyper-vigilant woman’ that craves a change in their mood. As her husband sets up those landmines, she feels herself literally wilting, figuratively speaking, soon enough.
The plethora of attention that is directed toward Blanche in the foreground due to the way She sees it is the clear choice in one reclaiming their clarity. Due to a combination of her geography and life experiences, it’s all abstract with the edges blurred, as this design is also high floating vision with a pinhole high in trauma.
We’ve seen all this before, even the “stunt” of casting the same actress as twin sisters. Many times, we’ve witnessed various scenarios wherein a woman recoils as her angry spouse wielding objects hurls them against her or shouts in her face. However, Efira becomes different from a Lifetime movie depicting the same because the terror emerges from somewhere so primal and real. If you have ever been in a circumstance in which the strong male figure who is expected to care about you tosses you around the room then you surely understand that this is anything but a cliche and certainly nothing ‘melodramatic’ for that matter. It is genuine, and it is horrifying.
For More Movies Like – Just the Two of Us (2024) – Visit 123Movies