Deux (2019)

Directed by: Filippo Meneghetti | 95 minutes | comedy, drama | Actors: Barbara Sukowa, Martine Chevallier, Léa Drucker, Jérôme Varanfrain, Muriel Bénazéraf, Augustin Reynes, Hervé Sogne, Stéphane Robles, Eugénie Anselin, Véronique Fauconnet, Aude-Laurence Clermont Biver, Denis Jousselin, Alice Lamainegarde, Paloma Roy Dumaininaegarde Gilles Soeder, Gilles Buonomo, Jean-Baptiste Durand

Anyone who takes in the first images of ‘Deux’ knows it right away: an older couple – two women, are in love. Nothing remarkable; the French ‘Deux’ seems to be slowly unfolding as a traditional romantic family drama, in which we probably see baskets of sunflowers and fresh vegetables. We don’t know yet that it concerns two single neighbours, who hide from the outside world that they are lesbian.

You have it for the two seventies, and wish them the best. The secrecy of love makes it exciting for the viewer, though that’s not enough for this one. Nina (Sukowa) and Madeleine (Chevallier) meet later in life, the first a Berlin tour guide based in France, the second a single person with children living away from home, including a suspicious daughter who keeps an eye on things (Drucker). They find each other as neighbors.

What’s next? Spoiler alert: Madeleine has a stroke before coming out. As a neighbor, Nina is not the first person to sit at her bedside: tragically. It can’t be that hard when love is strong, can it? Anyway. Provided: two grandes dame of acting do a good job; they know what is expected of them and offer it. This is not always the case in the supporting roles, which obscures the view of credible progress.

The role of Drucker is not supportive enough, and then there is also a home care worker who is an obstacle; it is clear that Meneghetti wants to show that women compete with each other in relationships. What predominates is the feeling of being in the past: if anyone or anything needs to understand in 2020 what the ladies feel for each other, it is surely the younger generation. And the latter, despite a respectful approach to the subject of old age and love, is omitted.