Two Days In Paris follows the story of French photographer Marion (Julie Delpy) and American interior designer Jack (Adam Goldberg) as they try to rekindle their relationship after two years. The film instantly throws you into the action as Marion rattles off the tale of the woeful trip so far through the use of voiceover narration and photo montages, before hurling the audience into Paris to explore to neuroses of the couple in Marion’s home city. There Jack is confronted with elements of Marion’s life which have previously been unknown to him, and Marion faces the difficulty of integrating Jack into a world that is not only intrinsically alien to him, but is full of potentially hurtful revelations about his girlfriend’s past.

Delpy takes a lot on in this film, not being satisfied with writing, directing and starring she also created the musical score and edited the feature. It is therefore surprising that once we enter Paris the tone of the film changes and already the audience is left wondering where the continuity in cinematic style has gone. The narration and photo montages which introduced the characters, their idiosyncrasies and the burgeoning relationship issues are largely abandoned in favour of a grainy, naturalistic approach filmed mostly in close-up. Similarly, the witty linguistics of the narration is supplanted by a farcical form of comedy based around stereotypes and Jack’s inability to speak French. There are plenty of funny moments, but frequently scenes seemed superfluous - for example Marion’s rants at a racist taxi driver and a paedophile ex-boyfriend are surely more of a podium for Delpy’s own views than an insight into the character she portrays. Somewhere in the middle we are treated to some of Delpy’s insights, but it was slightly lost among the echoes of other recent low-budget Indie-films like Lost in Translation and I Heart Huckabees, and amidst the heavy-handed comedy which frequently verged on the low-brow and was particularly embodied by Marion’s ex-Hippie parents (her father keys cars and her mum had sex with Jim Morrisson).

Nonetheless, Delpy has created an entertaining film. The kookiness of her characters is neatly presented, neither making them too loveable in a quirky way, nor allowing the audience to become too detached from their darker sides. As we’re drawn into Jack’s suspicions over Marion’s involvement with supposedly past lovers it is difficult not to identify with his sense of loss and confusion, exacerbated by his alien surroundings. And for all the zaniness of the comedy elements of the plot, it is refreshing to see Paris being taken a bit less seriously, and seeing some of its inhabitants portrayed in a less tired and clichéd way. The conclusion of the film also carries some weight. Returning to the narrative style of the earlier part of the film the characters expound interesting points about love, human interaction, and loneliness, and even if these points aren’t quite fully borne out by the preceding farces it is certainly an admirable display of understanding of the nuances of human relationships.

It is difficult to know precisely what to make of this one. It did keep me interested, but the disjointed cinematic style and the occasionally overdone comedic elements somewhat smothered the core debate that ran through the film. The result is an affable and enjoyable effort, a decent showcase of what Delpy is capable of, and the fast pace of the plot and lightness of the dialogue throughout make this a perfectly watchable film.

Categories: Comedy, Drama, Reviews