Apparently even Julie Delpy’s getting impatient waiting on a third in the Before Sunrise series, as evidenced by her first feature film as director, 2 Days in Paris. 2 Days is basically what Before Sunset would have been if Celine had brought Jesse back to meet her parents (played by Delpy’s real mother and father)… except that it gets the relationship all wrong.
The appeal of the Linklater series is its minimalist approach to love. It isn’t about anything other than two people finding the other half of their soul in another person. There is no seduction or dating or planning of any sort, it’s all about happenstance and being natural. And for the first hour of 2 Days in Paris it seems like Delpy understands that and the audience can have conniptions of joy seeing Celine again through Marion and Jack’s (Adam Goldberg) relationship. By far the best parts of 2 Days in Paris come as these two pleasant lovers wander through the city bullshitting about this and that (stop me when this sounds familiar).
But for some reason as you’re settling in on what starts as a great, if imitative, film, Delpy finds it necessary to distance Marion from Celine. Jack and Marion spend more scenes apart and Marion starts acting in irrational ways; she’s no longer sweet, sane or appealing in any way. She starts arguing with everyone, cheating on Jack, fighting with former partners. Simply put, she loses her damn mind. Goldberg, who up until this point had been a funny and charming enough replacement for Ethan Hawke, ends up having to stand around dumbfounded by this monstrosity he finds himself dating. And after having to put up with all Marion’s psychotic episodes, Jack doesn’t even get the satisfaction of breaking it off with her. That’s because she beats him to it. Then we’re supposed to believe that Jack finds something about Marion worth keeping around… and he won’t let her break up with him!
In essence, Julie Delpy has shown us how to successfully – and totally – castrate a male. And she only had to sacrifice her film to do so.
Wednesday, March 5, 2008
2 Days in Paris (Julie Delpy, 2007)
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4 comments:
You're so creative with your reviews, of what other people do, how satisfying that must be for you.
Please, don't write about what you don't understand.
Thank you.
That's her aesthetic though. All actors have their niche. That's the only connection I make between Celine and Marion. Julie Delpy herself is a great character so I don't mind the similarities.
I liked your review, but you didn't touch on the entire jealousy dynamic around Jack's character. You talk about how Marion turns crazy (I think she just lets her hair down because she's home and happy to be catching up with old friends - and she does not cheat on him, she's a flirt but there's a huge difference) but you ignored how Jack's not exactly the best catch either. Yes, Marion lies. That's her thing and they learn that about her. But Jack is stubborn and grumpy and I like that it works itself out in the end because I think that's how real couples are. Nobody's perfect, and you're likely to learn that while on a trip with someone.
I don't mind that the structure is the same (walking around with endless banter). There aren't enough movies like this.
Also...I would take Adam Goldberg over Ethan Hawke any day of the week.
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