In Valerie Donzelli’s novel, a seemingly happy relationship quickly falls apart. Just the two of us“The Domestic Violence” is presented as a harrowing but simplistic psychological thriller that makes it seem nearly impossible to escape. Virginie Efirat and Melvil Poupaud couldn’t be worse; the show can’t break that pattern. But Donzelli and Audrey Diwan’s black-and-white, overwrought script lacks the nuance of the characters’ physical bodies as they navigate suffocating relationships where the smallest actions or words unleash monsters.
As expected, the monster in this case is Grégoire (Poupaud), a sophisticated and charming man who first falls in love with Rose (Virginie Efira, who also plays Rose’s twin sister Blanche) at a party. Blinded by love, Rose ignores several warning signs, from Grégoire leaving without explanation after the wedding night to Rose letting her bangs down and sarcastically commenting on her dislike of them. After an unexpected pregnancy, the two marry and jet off to the countryside, where Grégoire has Rose to himself and begins his methodical mental, emotional and physical abuse. In this early section, Donzelli and cinematographer Laurent Tangy (Happenings) conveys the fuzzy, warm passion of new love with its red-stained frame, but as Grégoire’s hand tightens, the aesthetic becomes darker and more claustrophobic. The Umbrellas of CherbourgThere’s a playfulness in style and an early musical interlude where the protagonists express their emotions through song.
These initial light moments are punctuated by a cold insensibility throughout Rose’s present-day interview with her divorce lawyer (Dominique Raymond), foreshadowing the nasty abuse to come. Ephyra exudes a consistently emotive tenor with her characters, conveying both the seductive first tipsiness of romance and the nerve-wracking terror of being trapped in a life that seems inescapable. Based on the novel by Eric Reinhardt Love and ForestDonzelli and Diwan explore the techniques of abuse, as Gregoire admits his actions, excessively apologizing and begging for forgiveness, becoming the victim before Rose ever expresses her true feelings. “You can’t love me if you turn me into a monster,” pleads a domineering, whining Gregoire. Poupaud’s monotone threats lose depth as his poisonous tentacles entwine around his wife’s every waking moment, whether it’s during her teaching job or in every “free” moment. The viewer can sense where this is heading, and the film degenerates into a cliched game of watching this house of cards collapse.
if Just the two of us If it feels a little familiar, that’s partly down to bad timing: The film premiered at Cannes. Anatomy of a Fall It won the Palme d’Or. Justine Triet offers a more thorny, narratively ambiguous portrayal of a disastrous marriage, in which a couple’s ugly private life is exposed in public, leaving the viewer with more questions than answers. Donzelli’s latest is a well-acted, suffocating study of domestic violence, but one wishes it had been more than a schematic lesson in the horrors of abuse.
Just the two of us It will open on Friday, June 14th.
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