Reader's Request Week: 2 Days in Paris (2007)

9 months ago

Reader’s Request Week: 2 Days in Paris (2007)

DATING YOU IS LIKE DATING PUBLIC TELEVISION!

by Amanda McCleod

Allow me to make a confession:I had planned to avoid seeing 2 Days In Paris up until the moment I was asked to write about it for Bright Wall Dark Room’s wonderful Reader Request Week. When it debuted in 2007 I was feeling particularly cowardly and not at all warm to the idea that relationships aren’t all rosy and pleasant. I had not yet moved to New York City, had just graduated college, and was in the thick of what would ultimately be a three year long relationship. The trailer for 2 Days In Paris made Julie Delpy’s debut film look like a film about two people who hated each other. Why would I want to watch a film about an unhappy couple? At age 21 the idea that relationships were not entirely void of challenges, and required a certain amount of commitment and sacrifice, was not about to go down easy. So, even though I was and am a huge fan of Julie Delpy (who starred in, wrote, directed, edited, and scored this film), I let it sit unwatched at the end of my Netflix queue, taunting me.

The fact that I found Delpy’s film to be so intimidating speaks to 2 Day’s potency. The things that make us uncomfortable or uncertain in life are often the things most worthy of our attention and time, a point the film ultimately underscores. 2 Days In Paris was a difficult watch upon first viewing, but one that I now sincerely look forward to revisiting. In fact I felt extremely heartened after viewing it, which was truthfully the opposite of how I expected to feel. I have long been a fan of Delpy’s performances in Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, which are the two films I tend to re-watch whenever I am feeling low. The return to European streets and long-form dialogue in 2 Days In Paris initially made me nervous that the film would be borrowing a lot from Before Sunrise and Sunset, but this turned out not the case. In a way, 2 Days In Paris could even be seen as the antithesis to Before Sunrise and Before Sunset - though 2 Days is more of an answer than an antithesis. Before Sunrise and Sunset left me wondering if Celine and Jesse could make their relationship work outside of the long strolls and insightful conversations. Would they stay together and risk growing to dislike anything about the other? Would they risk familiarity and live to survive it?

2 Days In Paris introduces us to Jack (Adam Goldberg) and Marion (Julie Delpy) two years into their relationship. Marion describes the relationship as “two years of ups and downs, and in-betweens mostly”, noting that the length of the relationship seems like a miracle by modern standards. We are not told how or when they met, but we are told they’ve just had a dismal vacation in Venice and are now in Paris to visit Marion’s parents and pick up her cat.

Marion is adorable, slightly aloof, very French, and rather explosive when she’s angry. She is Parisian but now lives in New York with Jack, working as a photographer full time. Jack is an interior designer who was born and raised in New York. Jack is as encompassed by tattoos as he is by his own anxiety, which manifests in jealousy, chain smoking, and hypochondria. When the pair arrive in Paris he stubbornly refuses to take public transportation, whines about the rain, and proceeds to send a group of self proclaimed “Da Vinci Coders” miles in the opposite direction of the Lourve. Marion, although unhappy about his lack of patriotism, coos “you’re so mean, but you’re so bright. I love you.”

Jack has just suffered a week’s worth of food poisoning, does not speak any French, and is about to meet Marion’s family for the very first time. The pair had hopes of a romantic end to their long Venetian vacation, but are unfortunately doomed to far worse than undercooked seafood. Marion’s family is boisterous, opinionated, unusually upfront about sexuality, French culture, and what they think of Jack. To make matters worse Marion owns the tiny flat above her parent’s home.

After a hellish vacation Jack finds himself forced to deal with Marion’s eccentric family, cramped quarters, the language barrier, and he just can’t seem to catch a break with any of these things. The couple try to cope with the shortcomings of their vacation by visiting Parisian landmarks and marketplaces together, hoping to be inspired by the romantic Parisian setting. The trouble with these outings is that Marion keeps bumping into old ex-boyfriends, none of whom shy away from flirtation even with Jack present. Jealousy takes root as Jack finds himself an outsider not only to a foreign country and it’s culture, but to Marion’s past.

The ups and downs of Jack and Marion’s relationship play out so naturally that at times I felt uncomfortable as a viewer. I had to remind myself that Marion and Jack were not the unfortunate victims of some reality television show about couples. The cringing discomfort I experienced while watching 2 Days was brought on by how close to home it hit. I won’t go so far as to say we’ve all been there, but I certainly have. Ill-timed arguments in public places, insecurities about exes, awkward encounters with family members, the way your partner mispronounces certain things (“expresso”), and worst, the way they see you as you are - which is not always how you wish to be seen. While 2 Days In Paris is often quite hilarious, it is also brutally honest.

There’s a certain functionality that so many films disregard. Romance movies almost always leave you with a vision of doe-eyed lovers who are, of course, not thinking in the slightest about the future. What I found to be so remarkable about 2 Days In Paris is that the film presents us with a couple in the present. There is no romantic build up or fantasy scene to be found. We are never told why Marion and Jack are together, and at times the characters themselves seem not to know. What we are assured is that, despite all appearances, Jack and Marion are in love. The bickering in cabs and between the sheets, that’s all part of it. The jealousy, insecurity, worry, nausea, and all the anxiety is just what comes with allowing yourself to simultaneously need and care for another person.

This is the film equivalent of the friend who tells you the truth instead of what you want to hear. Relationships are messy! After you ride off into the sunset to live happily ever after you’re eventually going to have to deal with the fact that the person you love will not always be at their best. In fact, they will hardly ever be at their best! Birds will not always sing when they appear! At some point your significant other is probably going to get food poisoning or drink a little too much and you will be the one to take care of them. You will hold their hair back, rub their back, and bring them water. Your significant other is bound to have a friend, family member, or ex who will at one point make you uncomfortable, make you question your footing in your own relationship. Your significant other is at some point going to overreact, going to learn how to push your buttons, how to turn your own arguments against you, and how to hit you where it hurts. They may just be defending themselves, because they, like you, are scared of whatever this is you two share. You will find yourself feeling childish and at times even helpless at the mercy of your own vulnerability to this person who, when you met them, you probably never imagined arguing with.

Can we ever be sure of the person we love? Can we ever be sure of ourselves? Delpy addresses these questions masterfully, in such an understated manner I almost didn’t notice her asking them. The questions snuck up in the film just as they do in real relationships. You’re arguing, then you’re apologizing and making up, then you’re arguing again and suddenly you’ve arrived at an ultimatum.

2 Days In Paris offers an ultimatum that I believe will be beneficial to anyone who has been on the fence about seeing this film. 2 Days closes as all difficult heart-to-heart arguments do, with a few sniffles (including my own) and a sense of renewal. Love ultimately requires us to do that which many of us will find to be nearly impossible: it asks that we bare ourselves and our souls completely, and that we find a way to be gentle with one another while doing so. Delpy has managed to pinpoint the difficulties as well as the rewards of this process in an entirely refreshing manner, deglamorizing love and instead presenting us with something earnest and honest. In a world over populated by delusional romance films, 2 Days In Paris turned out to be a much welcomed reality check.