Early this year I saw a great
little Franco-American comedy called Two Days in New York. That film, a sequel to this, worked well as a stand alone
film but we enjoyed it so much that my girlfriend sought out the first movie as
well. Julie Delpy writes, directs, edits, composes and stars in what is
essentially a study of love. French born but New York residing photographer
Marion (Delpy) is on her way back to the States following an unromantic trip to
Venice with her neurotic, Woody Allen with tattoos and a beard-esque boyfriend
Jack (Adam Goldberg) when they stop off in Paris for a couple of days to pick
up a cat and drop in on Marion’s parents. The previously disaster filled Venice
trip fades into obscurity when put up against the events of the two days as
former lover after former lover reappears in Marion’s home city and Jack
becomes ever more jealous and agitated.
I’m a big fan of talkie
comedy-dramas featuring socially liberal, middle class people. I love Woody
Allen, Wes Anderson and Guillaume Canet, all three, directors who can create
snappy, funny, insightful films about relationships in often claustrophobic
settings. Delpy has the same talent and despite the spacious city streets of
the French capital, the film feels hemmed in and claustrophobic which adds to
the sense of sweaty tension. The dialogue is politically smart and socially
astute and is snappy in both English and French. It’s incredibly droll and
witty and manages to play on stereotypes without succumbing to them. There is
also a great understanding of the ebb and flow of a relationship and the hang
ups which both sides naturally have.
