JUST THE TWO OF US -- Uneven Melodrama Is Carried by Strong Performances

Review by Sean Boelman

Valérie Donzanelli’s domestic abuse melodrama Just the Two of Us is the type of movie where it’s easy to admire what it’s trying to do, even if the pieces don’t all come together. Despite a positive message and compelling lead performances, including from French starlet Virginie Efira, it’s not quite the moving work it needed to be.

The film follows a woman who meets a charming man, falls quickly in love, and believes that he is the one. However, this idyllic facade soon fades, and she realizes that she may be caught in a toxic relationship with a dangerous, possessive partner. The script, written by Donzelli and Audrey Diwan (Happening) from Éric Reinhardt’s novel, hits a lot of conventional and histrionic beats, but it’s compelling nonetheless.

Donzelli and Diwan don’t explore the nuances of abusive relationships as well as one might hope. Although the writers’ intentions are certainly noble, the execution is mixed at best. The movie fails to effectively address some of the nuances of the situation, such as the aftermath of the situation — especially when it comes to the characters’ children.

With a runtime of an hour and 45 minutes, Just the Two of Us also struggles with its pacing. The first act moves along at a very relaxed pace, taking the audience through the honeymoon stage of the characters’ relationship. By the time the conflict really begins to kick into overdrive, the final act feels rushed, and it feels like we don’t get a satisfying ending. Perhaps the lack of resolution is intentional, but it is frustrating nevertheless. Considering the sudden stop, it almost feels like everything is ending well, which is not necessarily the case.

However, what Donzelli and Diwan’s script does well is get the audience invested in the relationship in the first act so that the “twist” can have a visceral emotional impact. Although any audience member with a soul should immediately sympathize with the domestic violence survivor, it makes it all the more devastating to see this abuse committed against a character you’ve genuinely grown to care about.
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Virginie Efira has become one of the most prolific actresses in French cinema recently. Even though this is arguably one of her weaker recent outings, she still has a compelling screen presence. She obviously knocks the romantic scenes out of the park in the first act, but she also shows tremendous vulnerability in the later acts that allows the film to shine.

One of the more surprising things about Just the Two of Us is that Efira is not the biggest standout in the cast — that title belongs to Melvil Poupaud. Poupaud’s performance is full of the sinister charm needed to make the movie and its conflict believable. It’s not the explosive, exaggerated caricature one might expect from a melodrama like this.

Just the Two of Us is passable, but it probably had the potential to be something better, considering that it’s co-written by such a talented writer and it has such a gifted cast. However, strong performances from Virginie Efira and Melvil Poupaud make this worth watching, even if it doesn’t really surprise you in any way.

Just the Two of Us hits theaters on June 14.

​Rating: 3/5