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5x2 (5 x 2: Five Times Two) (2004)

tomatometer

65

Average Rating: 6.2/10
Reviews Counted: 68
Fresh: 44 | Rotten: 24

Five scenes from a marriage, deftly and poignantly presented.

60

Average Rating: 6/10
Critic Reviews: 20
Fresh: 12 | Rotten: 8

Five scenes from a marriage, deftly and poignantly presented.

audience

69

liked it
Average Rating: 3.6/5
User Ratings: 5,271

My Rating

Movie Info

The rise and fall of one couple's marriage goes under the microscope in this drama from French filmmaker François Ozon. Gilles (Stephane Freis) and Marion (Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi) have filed for divorce following several years of marriage, and after the judge declares their union is over, the film follows the couple through five lengthy flashbacks, presented in reverse chronological order, in which glimpses of their lives together are shown, ending with the couple meeting for the first time. As

Oct 25, 2005

$15.7k

ThinkFilm

Cast

All Critics (74) | Top Critics (21) | Fresh (45) | Rotten (24) | DVD (10)

A cool, sometimes chilly dissection of one couple's relationship.

August 18, 2005 Full Review Source: Atlanta Journal-Constitution | Comment
Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Gilles and Marion may be more than the sum of their regrets, but because their creator hasn't done the math, they remain touching stick figures.

July 29, 2005 Full Review Source: Boston Globe | Comment
Boston Globe
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Stripping away the extraneous details that etch great screen characters in our minds forever, Mr. Ozon pinpoints key moments in the life of a pair of married Parisians that leave the viewer paralyzed with boredom and confusion.

July 28, 2005 Comment
New York Observer
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Unwinds with absolute clarity and sure style, and Freiss and Bruni-Tedeschi make an interesting couple, if not a truly memorable one.

July 7, 2005 Full Review Source: Chicago Tribune | Comment
Chicago Tribune
Top Critic IconTop Critic

Neither Marion, with her melancholy stares, nor Gilles, with his detachment and his cigarettes, appears more than a character sketch.

July 7, 2005 Comment
Philadelphia Inquirer
Top Critic IconTop Critic

It's fascinating, like watching the collapse of a building in reverse.

July 1, 2005 Full Review Source: Washington Post | Comment
Washington Post
Top Critic IconTop Critic

The acting of both leads is good, at times more than that, but you feel that you've already seen every scene they're in, in countless other movies.

March 1, 2007 Full Review Source: Film Journal International | Comment
Film Journal International

It ends where the story begins at an Italian seaside resort as the couple happily swim off together into the sunset at their first encounter.

February 4, 2006 Full Review Source: Ozus' World Movie Reviews | Comment
Ozus' World Movie Reviews

Deconstructing the breakup of a romance in reverse chronological order is no longer original; Pinter has done it in "Betrayal."

December 20, 2005 Full Review Source: EmanuelLevy.Com | Comment

Ozon has a studied, contemplative style at work here.

November 28, 2005 Full Review Source: Film Threat | Comment
Film Threat

Peeling off the emotional layers one by one, François Ozon's 5 X 2 reveals intimate snapshots of a relationship, simply but searingly.

November 18, 2005 Full Review Source: Urban Cinefile | Comment
Urban Cinefile

(...) Es de esas películas que vale quizá más por las reflexiones y debates que dispara entre las personas que como pieza cinematográfica en sí misma.

October 17, 2005 Full Review Source: Uruguay Total | Comment
Uruguay Total

The soulful Bruni-Tedeschi gives the impression that her beautiful face is bruised, even though it is blemish free; it's one of the best performances of the year.

October 14, 2005 Comment
Commercial Appeal (Memphis, TN)

Even while we're flipping through the snapshots of two people's ultimate disenchantment with each other, it never feels tawdry or excessive or, for that matter, very interesting.

September 18, 2005 Full Review Source: Austin Chronicle | Comment
Austin Chronicle

We watch Marion and Gilles with a sort of clinical detachment, and it's difficult to really care.

September 16, 2005 Full Review Source: Kansas City Star | Comment
Kansas City Star

Doesn't feel like a gimmick at all. It feels like a natural introduction to the characters.

September 1, 2005 Full Review Source: Movie Habit | Comment
Movie Habit

Bruni-Tedeschi and Freiss give solid performances, though, and their physical transformations over time (a slight weight gain for her, facial hair for him) are convincing.

August 26, 2005 Full Review Source: Deseret News, Salt Lake City | Comment
Deseret News, Salt Lake City

The reverse-chronology gimmick ends up only serving up a trite observation that lies and mistrust are a poor foundation for a marriage.

August 26, 2005 Comment
Salt Lake Tribune

Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi's character is the one to watch throughout the film, as it is in her demeanor that we learn all the answers -- or all the questions, anyway.

August 25, 2005 Full Review Source: EricDSnider.com | Comment
EricDSnider.com
More Critic Reviews

Audience Reviews for 5x2 (5 x 2: Five Times Two)

Moving study of a relationship in reverse which highlights the inherent fragility of emotional bonds

July 4, 2007
gor41
Gordon A

Super Reviewer

Average French drama-little romance movie at the present backward to the past story of a couple - Marion and Gilles.

September 24, 2006
deano
Dean McKenna

Super Reviewer

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