EIFF: Two Days In Paris review

It’s the first movie on last day of the fest for me, so I shed a little tear before bolting to get to the screening. Just like the morning, I’ll get straight to it.

The movie opens with a train ride, with the main characters Jack (Adam Goldberg) and Marion (Julie Delpy) asleep next to one another, and a narration from the latter about how they got there and where they are headed: Paris. We quickly learn that after two years together, Jack is set to meet his partner’s family and friends for the first time. Bit of a problem? He doesn’t speak French, and they don’t speak English. A lot of other things happen, but this part speaks volumes to me.

It’s a very potent allegory for any person trying to delve into their partner’s world, something a lot of people dread going through, including me. Every family has their own way of communicating and acting around each other, which another person might struggle to blend in with. Jack is in this very position, only tenfold. This makes for some absolutely hilarious scenes, and brilliant moments of weirdness.

As well as this, the relationship between Jack and Marion is absolutely tremendous, their jabs back and forth almost making the movie worthwhile for them alone. The little arguments they have and the fact that they are very comfortable around each other is very warming too, and it brings the movie an overwhelming love from my movie-heart.

These two elements surround themselves with brilliantly written sidelines, hilarious fumbles in the bed and the most obnoxious opinionated taxi drivers ever, to create an absolutely superb movie with a very bittersweet ending.

What can I say? Two Days In Paris is a fantastic movie. It’s funny, it’s dramatic, it’s warm, it’s cold, it’s heartless, it’s heart-warming, it’s chaotic and it’s calm, sometimes all at the same time. One warning though; DO NOT use this as an early date movie, it would be bad news. Other than that, there are no faults to this movie. I loved it. Pure and simple.