Marion Cotillard’s performance in this film has gotten her an AW nomination for best actress. She is a great actress, but her role in this movie has very limited range. If you want to see her at her best, check out “Rust and Bone.”
In any case, as far as this movie goes, Sandra (Marion) has been on a leave of absence from her factory job due to an unspecified mental illness (probably a severe anxious depression). She has recovered well enough to return to work, but the Owner of the company has realized that the business can manage very well without her and is more profitable, too.
The Owner gives her co-workers the choice of each of them getting a €1000 Christmas bonus or renouncing the bonus so Sandra can have her job back. The first vote on Friday was for Sandra to get the axe, but it wasn’t a secret ballot and there was undue influence by the foreman. A co-worker friend of Marion’s subsequently convinces the Owner, due to the problems with the first vote, to have a second vote, which will be a secret ballot on Monday.
Manu (Fabrizio Rongione), her empathic and supportive husband, convinces Sandra to spend the weekend visiting her co-workers to try to get them to vote for her to keep her job.
The movie primarily consists of Sandra talking each co-worker to ask him/her to vote for her to stay. She says essentially the same thing to each person, although each co-worker’s response is a little different. Just about all of her co-workers have significant financial problems and need the bonus money. The film is slow and repetitive, since there are numerous very similar encounters (which aren’t that interesting either).
Sandra can barely keep it together. She is a nervous wreck, intermittently crying and taking pills all day long. The suspense (what little there is) is how will her co-workers vote?
The film has an interesting twist at the end, which Robin thought was creative and good enough to make the movie worth seeing. I liked the ending, but it wasn’t quite enough to salvage the film for me.
If you have 2 Days and 1 Night free, I’d catch a different flick.
Rating- 6.5- OTBR (On the bubble rental)
Dave
