Julie Delpy and Adam Goldberg star in 2 Days in Paris
Days and nights in the city of lights
Julie Delpy's foray into directing takes a Woody Allen-esque tone in 2 Days in Paris
By Annie Anderson
Published: September 12th, 2007 | 5:44pm
2 Days in Paris is Julie Delpy's feature film debut as writer-director. The multi-talented Delpy stars as Marion, an American transplant from France who visits Paris for two days with her American boyfriend Jack, played by Adam Goldberg. Their Parisian stopover is an addendum to a romantic two week trip to Venice, and by film's end, one wonders if they shouldn't have bee-lined back to the Big Apple from Italy. Marion and Jack hang out with her parents, played with brassy earthiness by Delpy's real-life parents Marie Pillet and Albert Delpy, but mostly they do a lot of wondering and wandering. They walk the city streets talking about their relationship, and their repartee borders on fraught and friendly, especially as the run-ins with Marion's ex-boyfriends become more frequent.
Delpy's keen directorial eye creates an aesthetic of insulated urbanism, from the Woody Allen-esque chitchat to the black frame glasses and blazers that the leads sport. Jack is a wry, whiny American, Delpy his long-suffering companion. An exchange that Marion and Jack share on one of their many walks captures the best of Delpy's talents as a writer. The couple banters about whether they'd remain friends upon breaking up. Jack admits he would not want her friendship should they split up. Flummoxed, Marion fumbles through a reprimand. "I like you. I would like to be your friend when we break up. Whenever we break up. No — if we break up," she says.
Moments like these affirm Delpy's grasp of her material, however forced the dialogue feels at other times. 2 Days in Paris provides a nice snapshot, however generalized, of Franco-American relations and Franco-Franco relationships, showcasing a menagerie of racist Parisian cab drivers and randy French men.
The film is a fine entry in the modern tome of lost-in-translation movies, but the tedious back-and-forth between the leads leaves something to be desired. I didn’t much care if the couple ended up together or not. Delpy does well with the role she created for herself, but I can't think of many adjectives to describe her Marion. Attractive? Sure. In love with Jack? I suppose. Happy? I don't know.
I'm excited to see what Delpy comes up with next, but like the couple in the film, two days in Paris was enough for me.
Issue #23
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