With its depiction of long-time, secret lovers torn asunder, writer-director Filippo Meneghetti’s feature directorial debut, Two of Us, walks a risky, but intriguing line between adoration and obsession.
In public, older lovers Madeline (Martine Chevallier) and Nina (Barbara Sukowa) simply act as neighbors. Madeline not only doesn’t want to tell her children, Anne (Lea Drucker) and Frederic (Jerome Varanfrain), about her relationship with Nina, she’s not even all that comfortable revealing their relationship at all. Instead, the women have secretive meetings in each other’s apartments, the lighting always keeping them in the shadows. Honestly, Madeline and Nina don’t need anyone around to show how much they genuinely love each other, as their dancing and meaningful gazes perfectly display their real love. However, their bond is quickly tested when Madeline suddenly suffers from a stroke and Nina is forced to remain loyal in secret.
Now, this is where the film really gets interesting, as Meneghetti utilizes perspective and the film’s incredible technical elements to put a horror spin on the couple’s romance. While we know that Madeline and Nina’s relationship is real, everyone else is in the dark. So, all of Nina’s efforts to see her look a little obsessive to everyone else. This creates a lot of tense dramatic irony for the interactions Nina has with Anna and a caregiver (Muriel Benazeraf) as she tries to be beside Madeline. There are a lot of strange looks and curiosity that people have in perceiving Nina’s involvement that make you worry when people are going to start asking questions and if Nina can really keep her relationship with Madeline a secret.
Meneghetti elevates all of this through excellent sound design and a flawless use of framing and camera movement to create engaging story moments. It’s honestly impressive to see Meneghetti create such compelling moments by building sound to intensify a conversation or action that’s happening in the foreground or sometimes the background. There’s this really great moment when Nina’s anxiety to see Madeline is matched with the sound of a ticking clock and her tapping her spoon on her mug that draws you in and makes you feel her frustration. Michele Menini’s score also adds to the film’s horror spin, along with how cinematographer Aurélien Marra uses the camera and the peepholes in Madeline and Nina’s apartment doors to create some oddly chilling sequences. Honestly, if there weren’t the established context of Madeline and Nina having such a genuinely loving relationship, it would be easy to think that this was an obsessive stalker horror movie—which can at times be to the film’s detriment.
Although the surprising horror spin Two of Us has is what makes it unique, it definitely works against the audience being on Nina’s side all the time in her efforts to stay near Madeline. Her breaking into Madeline’s apartment at night to see her and even trying to screw her caregiver out of her job make her feel like the obsessive stalker that other people think she is. The film does try to establish a greater context on the longevity of Nina and Madeline’s relationship that adds to our understanding of why Nina is so hellbent on always being alongside Madeline. However, it comes a little too late into the film and it’s hard to totally sympathize with her actions because it feels like she takes things too far.
Ultimately though, the context that’s established along with the stellar performances from Chevallier and Sukowa make you connect with the characters’ relationship on a deep level. Nina actually helping Madeline through the aftereffects of her stroke is really moving and a meaningful representation of how much they mean to each other. It’s a powerful reminder of the strength of their love and warms your heart. Even as their actions come back to bite them and possibly force them to separate for good, Meneghetti creates a powerful end that’s memorable and legitimately sweet. All of this is elevated through the performances of these two incredible leads as they evoke the desperation and determination Madeline and Nina have in being together and they are the true heart of this film.
Although its risks might not always pay off in the film’s favor, Meneghetti creates a unique love story with Two of Us that’s constantly engaging to watch and features two strong lead performances that embody the anguish and adoration of the film’s central relationship.
