5 x 2 DVD, 2004

5x2 is major step forward in the career of François Ozon. His recent hits 8 Women and Swimming Pool, though entertaining and well-acted, lacked substance. 5x2 is a far more complex work, echoing Ingmar Bergman's superlative Scenes From A Marriage - both are essentially two-handers delineating the gradual breakdown of a marriage over a number of bitter years, divided into very distinct ‘chapters’. A major difference lies in the narrative structure - 5x2 uses the same technique as Pinter’s Betrayal and Noé’s controversial Irreversible in telling its story backwards; Ozon's film begins with the divorce of Marion and Gilles and ends with the beginning of their relationship. In between we see an awkward dinner party, the birth of the couple's child and their wedding.
This modus operandi encourages the audience to contemplate whether the separation was inevitable; Gilles appears to be completely reprehensible in the first few segments, yet as the film progresses we observe that Marion, too, is not without vice. We see Marion’s parents as an example of a similarly problematic marriage which withstood marital difficulties, and an unconventional gay couple who are nominally against monogamy, although it is clear that one of the men is unhappy with the situation.
The obscenity of the final image – Marion and Gilles walk hand in hand into the sunset, blissfully oblivious to the pain and cruelty ahead – leaves a bitter aftertaste, owing to its knowing pretence of being a happy ending. This poignant denouement, the high-class acting (Tedeschi's wistfully melancholic performance as Marion in particular) and sensitive dialogue make 5x2 one of the most interesting French films of the year.

Alex Davidson on 9th August 2005
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