2 Days in Paris
“Hey. This man’s talking about fascist vaginas.”
I was really looking forward to seeing this, especially as I ultimately did alongside Ethan Hawke’s The Hottest State. Especially in that context, it’s kind of hard to talk about this movie in particular without comparing it to Richard Linklater’s Delpy/Hawke starrers Before Sunrise and Before Sunset, and I’ll admit that my biggest fear about 2 Days in Paris was that it would, if anything, be too much like that masterful pair.
The similarities are absolutely there. Julie Delpy – who writes, directs, stars, edits, composes, probably caters – is very focused on relationships; on the little things that are actually big things that make and break them.
But what won me over and eventually utterly slayed me here was the humour. I don’t think I’ve laughed louder at a movie all year. Marion’s character’s father – played by Delpy’s father – keying the cars parked on the Paris curb; the strange man on the Metro and the way Adam Goldberg attempts to stare him out; the poor American tourists at the end; the “fairy” in the fast food restaurant.
What it comes down to is the final scene where Delpy realises (in her character and literally on film) that moment in a relationship where “you can’t face another break up, and you love their sneezes more than anyone else’s kisses.” It’s so corny in a way, but these two characters are every bit as believable as Jesse and Celine were in Linklater’s movies, and it works beautifully. I was astonished by how tolerable and even sympathetic Adam Goldberg turned out to be – his frustration at not being able to understand the French language is all at once annoying, funny, and sad. Delpy is able to show warts and all both male and female “sides” of the story (not a me thing to say, I know – but I don’t know, Delpy does it in a way that’s somehow acceptable to me, it all comes from individual character rather than for the sake of it), and her ability to portray Marion’s nastier side so nakedly is truly admirable. Definitely one I’ll revisit just as much as the Jesse/Celine story, and if you’re a Paris nut like me I’m sure you’ll love it too.