How to tell the life of a couple nowadays? This is what François Ozon tried to study in his new feature-length movie, "5x2" (2004). I went to see it at the movies on the first day of its release and it didn't disappoint me at all. Ozon chose to focus on five precise moments in the life of a couple. Originality, these moments are related backwards! It means that the film begins with the divorce between the two main characters and it ends with their meeting. Ozon declared that he was influenced by a TV film made by Jane Campion a couple of years ago which told a friendship between two young girls. Campion's work began with their separation and it ended with their meeting.
It is significant to notice that in Ozon's cinema, the couple never remains stable. In "Under the Sand" (2000), Bruno Cremer disappeared leaving Charlotte Rampling hopeless. In "8 Women" (2002), Catherine Deneuve wanted to leave her husband for her lover. In "5x2", the couple formed by Gilles (Stéphane Freiss) and Marion (Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi) isn't an exception to the rule and presents a dull and bitter image. From the beginning (it means at the end of the film!) their relationship is bound to fail. There's a cue pronounced by Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi before they are going to swim: "We shouldn't go and swim in this part of the sea. It is dangerous". This "part of the sea" can be taken for a connotation of their forthcoming tormented love life.
Then to tell their slow but inevitable disintegration, the director preferred to leave low-key several parts of dialogs or sequences. There are 2 examples to prove it. Gilles doesn't attend Marion's childbirth and we really don't know why. A sign of cowardice? Maybe... On another hand, in the first step of the movie when they are in the hotel room, Ozon lets us suggest that they have both a lover which may have caused their divorce (to notice that in this step, when Gilles tries to have sex with Marion, it can be taken for a hopeless try to reform the couple). It could mean that Ozon's screenplay remains unfinished. Besides, he once declared that he hated writing and his scripts were nearly always unfinished. But, in reality he plays with the spectator once again. Ozon wants him to take part in his movie as much as possible the following way: it is to him to formulate ideas or hypotheses that are likely to explain the ambiguous points scattered throughout the movie.
Furthermore, the movie contains several details that speak volume about the progressive disintegration of the couple. The beginning of the movie shows us a bearded Stéphane Freiss with the disenchanted air and a pale, sad Valéria Bruni-Tedeschi. Ozon also put in a lot of effort in the light. The beginning of the movie takes us to rather dark rooms while the end presents shiny landscapes.
At last, we really can't say that Gilles and Marion form a united couple. During their wedding night, Marion spends the night outside with a stranger and the fact that Gilles doesn't attend his wife's childbirth nearly causes an argument between Marion and her parents. So, Ozon made somber two events which are in general happy ones.
Even if the originality that had secured François Ozon's reputation is less pronounced in his new movie (except as I previously said in the order of these five moments), "5x2" is a new success in this genuine film-maker's work who doesn't seem to be out of inspiration. Let's hope it lasts!
It is significant to notice that in Ozon's cinema, the couple never remains stable. In "Under the Sand" (2000), Bruno Cremer disappeared leaving Charlotte Rampling hopeless. In "8 Women" (2002), Catherine Deneuve wanted to leave her husband for her lover. In "5x2", the couple formed by Gilles (Stéphane Freiss) and Marion (Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi) isn't an exception to the rule and presents a dull and bitter image. From the beginning (it means at the end of the film!) their relationship is bound to fail. There's a cue pronounced by Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi before they are going to swim: "We shouldn't go and swim in this part of the sea. It is dangerous". This "part of the sea" can be taken for a connotation of their forthcoming tormented love life.
Then to tell their slow but inevitable disintegration, the director preferred to leave low-key several parts of dialogs or sequences. There are 2 examples to prove it. Gilles doesn't attend Marion's childbirth and we really don't know why. A sign of cowardice? Maybe... On another hand, in the first step of the movie when they are in the hotel room, Ozon lets us suggest that they have both a lover which may have caused their divorce (to notice that in this step, when Gilles tries to have sex with Marion, it can be taken for a hopeless try to reform the couple). It could mean that Ozon's screenplay remains unfinished. Besides, he once declared that he hated writing and his scripts were nearly always unfinished. But, in reality he plays with the spectator once again. Ozon wants him to take part in his movie as much as possible the following way: it is to him to formulate ideas or hypotheses that are likely to explain the ambiguous points scattered throughout the movie.
Furthermore, the movie contains several details that speak volume about the progressive disintegration of the couple. The beginning of the movie shows us a bearded Stéphane Freiss with the disenchanted air and a pale, sad Valéria Bruni-Tedeschi. Ozon also put in a lot of effort in the light. The beginning of the movie takes us to rather dark rooms while the end presents shiny landscapes.
At last, we really can't say that Gilles and Marion form a united couple. During their wedding night, Marion spends the night outside with a stranger and the fact that Gilles doesn't attend his wife's childbirth nearly causes an argument between Marion and her parents. So, Ozon made somber two events which are in general happy ones.
Even if the originality that had secured François Ozon's reputation is less pronounced in his new movie (except as I previously said in the order of these five moments), "5x2" is a new success in this genuine film-maker's work who doesn't seem to be out of inspiration. Let's hope it lasts!