''5x2'' (also ''Cinq fois deux''; ) is a 2004
French film directed by
François Ozon
François Ozon (; born 15 November 1967) is a French film director and screenwriter.
Ozon is considered one of the most important modern French filmmakers.
His films are characterized by aesthetic beauty, sharp satirical humor and a free-wheeli ...
, which uncovers the back story to the gradual disintegration of a middle class marriage by depicting five key moments in the relationship, but in reverse order.
Plot
A young married couple, Gilles and Marion, are in a lawyer's office. The lawyer reads out the formal terms of their separation. Then, they book a hotel room together.
We then go back in time, with the second chapter showing a tense dinner party, at which Gilles appears to admit to infidelity. The third chapter shows their son's birth, which Gilles missed by several hours, leaving Marion in the hospital with only her parents. The fourth chapter shows their wedding day. The final chapter takes place at an Italian beach resort, where their relationship began.
The individual chapters are all punctuated by romantic Italian love songs, which Ozon has said he chose for their "over-the-top sentimentality" and in order to offset the darkness of some of the scenes in the film.
Ozon has also said that the backward structure of the story was in part inspired by
Jane Campion
Dame Elizabeth Jane Campion (born 30 April 1954) is a New Zealand filmmaker. She is best known for writing and directing the critically acclaimed films ''The Piano'' (1993) and ''The Power of the Dog (film), The Power of the Dog'' (2021), for ...
's 1986 film ''
Two Friends'', and that it allowed for "a true, lucid reading of a couple's story".
Cast
*
Valeria Bruni Tedeschi
Valeria Carla Federica Bruni Tedeschi, also written Bruni-Tedeschi (; born 16 November 1964), is an Italian and French actress, screenwriter and film director. Her 2013 film, '' A Castle in Italy,'' was nominated for the Palme d'Or at the 2013 C ...
as Marion
*
Stéphane Freiss
Stéphane Freiss (born 22 November 1960) is a French film, television, and stage actor. He won a César Award for his performance in the 1988 film '' Chouans!''.
Selected filmography
*'' Premiers désirs'' (1984)
*''Vagabond'' (1985)
*'' Ch ...
as Gilles
*
Géraldine Pailhas
Géraldine Pailhas (born 8 January 1971) is a French actress.
Career
In 1992, she won the César Award for Most Promising Actress for her role in ''La neige et le feu'', directed by Claude Pinoteau.
She had her first international success in ...
as Valérie
*
Françoise Fabian
Michelle Cortès (born 10 May 1933), known professionally as Françoise Fabian (), is a French film actress. She has appeared in more than 100 films since 1956. In 1971, Fabian signed the Manifesto of the 343
The Manifesto of the 343 Women () ...
as Monique
*
Michael Lonsdale
Michael Edward Lonsdale Crouch (24 May 1931 – 21 September 2020), commonly known as Michael Lonsdale and sometimes as Michel Lonsdale, was a French-British actor and author who appeared in over 180 films and television shows. He is often ...
as Bernard
*
Antoine Chappey
Antoine Chappey (born 1960) is a French actor. He has appeared in over 80 films and television shows since 1989. He starred in the film ''Nelly (2004 film), Nelly'', which was screened in the Un Certain Regard section at the 2004 Cannes Film Fes ...
as Christophe Ferrond
*
Marc Ruchmann as Mathieu
Production
Stéphane Freiss said the hotel rape sequence with Valeria Bruni Tedeschi was 'pretty hardcore', explaining that in the screenplay this scene was only a few lines long (it said 'they make love') and revealing that after filming François Ozon said to the actors he wasn't expecting them to give so much.
References
External links
''5x2'' at Francois-Ozon.com*
{{François Ozon
2004 films
2000s French-language films
French nonlinear narrative films
Films directed by François Ozon
2004 romantic drama films
French romantic drama films
2000s French films
Films produced by Olivier Delbosc
Films produced by Marc Missonnier
Films scored by Philippe Rombi