Synopsis
As young French couple Gilles and Marion officially separate, we see, in reverse order, the milestone moments in their relationship: Gilles revealing his unfaithfulness at a tense dinner party; Marion giving birth to their premature son while Gilles is elsewhere; Gilles and Marion's joyous wedding; and, finally, the fateful moment when they meet as acquaintances at an Italian beach resort, and their love affair begins.
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Cast
- Valeria Bruni TedeschiMarion
- Stéphane FreissGilles
- Françoise FabianMonique
- Michael LonsdaleBernard
- Géraldine PailhasValérie
- Antoine ChappeyChristophe
- Marc RuchmannMathieu
- Jason TavassoliL'Américain
- Jean-Pol BrissartLe Juge
- Eliane KherrisL'avocate
Recommendations
- 80
The A.V. Club
Unlike "Eternal Sunshine Of The Spotless Mind," which holds the memories of a doomed affair as precious, there's nothing bittersweet about Ozon's failed romance, but its problems are equally true. - 75
ReelViews
5x2 is a little talky and the pace is slow, but, for this kind of motion picture, it's one of the best around. - 75
Christian Science Monitor
Compellingly acted and rich in visual ideas, but a bit thin in its psychological approach. - 70
Variety
Excellent perfs and writer-director Francois Ozon's sure, unfussy way with the camera add up to a viewing experience whose richness depends in large part on how much the viewer reads into the human templates on display. - 70
Village Voice
Deceptively placid and subtly unpredictable drama. - 67
Entertainment Weekly
Feminist sanctimony, it turns out, looks much the same forward and backward. - 63
New York Post
France's François Ozon's 5 x 2, which resembles Ingmar Bergman's "Scenes from a Marriage" told in reverse, could be played for laughs, or suspense -- who killed this marriage? -- or with the rueful irony of Stephen Sondheim's backward musical "Merrily We Roll Along." - 60
TV Guide Magazine
A wickedly entertaining bit of domestic tragedy.
