Summary
- Stylistic choices in
Just the Two of Us
add depth and timelessness to the story, making its tense tale of an abusive relationship more universal. - The central performances by Efira and Poupaud carry the film, highlighting the progression of their relationship.
- The film aims to raise awareness about abusive relationships, although questions arise about the depiction of violence against women in cinema.
Just the Two of Us is like The Worst Person in the World's darksided twin. With stylistic similarities and both depicting a whirlwind romance, it seems like Just the Two of Us will follow a similar path until it veers off into something altogether more sinister. Here, our protagonist, Blanche (Virginie Efira), lives in Normandy with her mother and twin sister before meeting Grégoire (Melvil Poupaud) and beginning an intense relationship. It's not long before Blanche and Grégoire are expecting a baby and his job requires them to move far from home, which she agrees to in the chaos.
Now, isolated from her other loved ones, Grégoire's more dangerous and scary traits gradually start to show. The steady descent into a manipulative and then abusive relationship is terrifying to watch once it starts to take shape. It's far from an easy watch, but it's an impactful one that the filmmakers hope will help others in a position similar to Blanche's. Enhanced by an excellent performance from Efira and wonderfully executed stylistic choices, Just the Two of Us explores control, family, and love as each of these facets ebb and flow.
Thoughtful Creative Choices
Just the Two of Us
4/5
- Release Date
- May 24, 2023
- Director
- Valérie Donzelli
- Cast
- Virginie Efira , Melvil Poupaud , Dominique Reymond , Romaine Bohringer , Virginie Ledoyen , Marie Rivière , Guang Ho , Laurence Côte
- Runtime
- 1h 45m
- Writers
- Valérie Donzelli , Audrey Diwan
Before unpacking the more intense side of things, it's worth giving some attention to the impressive stylistic choices that support and add depth to Just the Two of Us's story. What's immediately striking about the movie's appearance is its sense of timelessness. Depictions of partygoers smoking heavily indoors and a lack of technology on display for the first half of the action position the story in a kind of limbo. Rather than this lack of specificity taking away from the movie's authenticity, it instead makes it more universal. Controlling behavior and emotional abuse aren't a modern phenomenon with the rise of technology and surveillance. This could happen to anyone at any time.
Beyond that, Just the Two of Us also uses its set design and lighting to convey transitional moments and emotion. Early on, when Blanche is diving headfirst into her relationship with Grégoire, we see her talking to her mother about it, and with a swoop of the lights, we then see her twin sister talking to their mother about her apprehensions on the same topic. The seamless swap between the two women shows both their closeness and the distance that is being created by this new relationship. They occupy the same position, but never at the same time.
Similarly, there is a stark contrast between the warm lighting of their family home and the cooler tones of Blanche and Grégoire's new, distant house. Just the Two of Us is a great example of how these aesthetic components can create a sense of unease before it's clear that Blanche feels it herself. The lighting bolsters her performance by conveying the environmental elements of her character that would be difficult to verbalize naturally.
Barbie Set Designers Were Inspired By Alfred Hitchcock’s Psycho For Weird Barbie’s House
Production designers Sarah Greenwood and Katie Spencer share their inspirations and behind-the-scenes design methods for the houses in Barbie Land.
Weighty Central Performances
As a result of the way Grégoire isolates Blanche, most of the movie rests almost entirely on those performances, as they're the ones who occupy the screen the most. With a relatively tight runtime of 105 minutes, the two are tasked with convincingly portraying a whirlwind romance from the honeymoon stage to marriage and a baby, and the subsequent steady downfall of their relationship. It's not easy to be able to play both sides of a coin like that without there being an abrupt turning point between when things are good and bad, but Poupaud does an excellent job in the role of Grégoire.
Grégoire is an interesting role, not only because of the drastic turn his behavior takes, but also because we never learn much about him. While we spend time with Blanche's family and see her at work, we only really see Grégoire when he is with Blanche. This decision is key in building the world of Just the Two of Us. For one thing, it emphasizes the way that Grégoire's life revolves around Blanche to an obsessive and unhealthy degree.
Additionally, his lack of contact with his own family raises questions about what makes a family — blood, marriage, or just simple connection? Early on, he dismisses any input from Blanche's twin sister, saying frustratedly, "She isn't part of our relationship." He expects total commitment and devotion from her and can't understand the value of her love for others. In this way, his character and Poupaud's portrayal of him adds these thought-provoking thematic layers.
What's particularly impressive about the way Efira and Poupaud work together on screen is that the viewer can easily understand how and why the couple got together in the first place, and also how the relationship ends up where it does. Of course, there are moments early on that foreshadow his later behavior, but it's not like a horror movie where you're screaming at the characters not to enter the abandoned cabin in the woods. It's important that they really do connect and have safe, loving times together, so that when things become sour, it's all the more clear just how bad it is.
The Depiction of Abuse
Just the Two of Us is based on a novel by Éric Reinhardt, who says that the novel has helped women recognize and escape abusive relationships. The filmmakers hope to achieve the same goal here, making it clear that the aim of the movie is to raise awareness and educate viewers on what abuse can look like. To that end, they have done a chillingly good job — it's a difficult piece to watch because of just how real it all feels.
However, watching yet another story of a woman being abused does raise certain questions about the frequency of this kind of movie. To name just a few entries in the abusive relationship canon, there are Alice, Darling, Sleeping With the Enemy, The Invisible Man,Gerald's Game, or Before I Go to Sleep. Moreover, even when not necessarily about an emotionally abusive situation, women being tormented is an ever-present theme in cinema and this can get exhausting.
15 Movies That Accurately Portray Abusive Relationships
Over time, several movies have addressed relationship abuse and domestic violence, but only a handful have authentically portrayed the realities.
So, how do we judge right and wrong here? When does the depiction of violence (emotional and physical) against women become an issue? On the one hand, these stories are important, and just because something is hard to watch, doesn't mean it's bad or wrong. But, on the other, we have to question why we so often turn to women suffering for entertainment — particularly in the thriller genre. There's no easy answer here, and this is not a critique of Just the Two of Us on its own, but rather the broader movement that it's part of.
Ultimately, the laser focus that Just the Two of Us has on Blanche is important. This is her story rather than a story about her being abused, and the final shot makes this abundantly clear. Thanks to the empathetic and compelling performance from Virginie Efira, Blanche is the story's hero.
From Music Box Films, Just the Two of Us opens on Friday, June 14 in New York at Alamo Drafthouse Lower Manhattan and in Los Angeles at Laemmle Glendale, followed by national expansion.
Comments
Post a Comment