Francois Ozon, the director of Swimming Pool and Under the Sand, has a special knack for exploring in a fascinating way the mysteries of human relationships. This engrossing drama is built around five scenes from a modern European marriage played out in reverse chronology.
The couple, Marion (Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi) and Gilles (Stephane Freiss), are attractive together but that superficial unity has been undermined by multiple betrayals and the erosion of trust. There are traces of anger and regret on their faces as they sit in front of judge who reads to them the terms of their divorce. Then they retire to a cheap hotel room where Gilles wants to give their separation a physical closure. What starts out as sex ends up as a sign of their deep disconnection with each other.
In a dinner party scene years earlier, Marion and Gilles are hosting a get together with his middle-aged brother, who is introducing them to his new lover. This brash young man declares that fidelity is no longer viable in intimate relationships. This prompts Gilles to share a story about the only time he made love outside the marriage bond. Is it true or something he makes up on the spot? It's hard to say but the anger between Gilles and Marion is palpable.
One of the most depressing scenes charting the dissolution of their marriage is when Marion has to give birth to their son early due to complications. Even though Gilles knows about this development, he purposely refuses to go to the hospital to be with his wife during her painful and scary ordeal. Marion is not comforted by her parents who show up to offer their support but end up fighting while she lies in her bed watching them.
By the time we reach the scene depicting their wedding ceremony, it is clear that they are not suited to each other. This is made crystal clear in the opening segment where Marion meets Gilles at a resort while he is with his lover of four years. She is on the rebound after being jilted by her Sicilian boyfriend.
Although 5X2 does not quite match the wit and the sophistication of the movie version of Harold Pinter's Betrayal, it does manage to deliver some insights into sexual politics. Roger Housden, one of our favorite spiritual writers, has observed: " In marriage there is no escape from the dark corners of another human being. There is no escape from the mirror another casts on my own sorry state." In five scenes, Ozon manages to uncover many of the dark corners and the distorted mirror images in a disintegrating marriage.
DVD features include audio commentary with director Francois Ozon.
