L'amour et les forêts

Fantastic, straightforward film with an intricate portrayal of a psychopath tormenting a strong woman who's found herself in his web. There isn't that much to be said, which is a good thing. The main heroine carries herself with poise and dignity throughout the horrific ordeal, and emerges victorious. This is a disturbing enough thriller, realistic, and without any Hitchcockian ambiguity, being clearly done through a female lens. While fully delivering aesthetically, it would hopefully serve to leave any abuse victim feeling empowered. We need more films to call out such abusers: "petit monsieur".

Valérie Donzelli's *Just the Two of Us* (*L'amour et les forêts*) is a chilling exploration of the thin line between passion and possession. Adapted from Éric Reinhardt's novel, the film follows Blanche Renard (Virginie Efira), a woman who falls for the charming and enigmatic Greg Lamoureux (Melvil Poupaud). What begins as a dream romance quickly unravels into a harrowing story of manipulation and emotional abuse.

Virginie Efira delivers a heartbreaking performance as Blanche, capturing the vulnerability and strength of a woman trapped in a toxic relationship. Melvil Poupaud is hauntingly convincing as Greg, whose possessiveness and control escalate with a quiet menace that keeps the tension palpable throughout. Their dynamic drives the film, creating moments that are both devastating and utterly compelling.

Donzelli's direction is intimate and unflinching, using close, often claustrophobic framing to reflect Blanche's emotional confinement. The film's pacing is taut, gradually intensifying as Greg's behavior becomes increasingly dangerous. The screenplay, co-written by Audrey Diwan and Donzelli, is sharp and nuanced, offering an unvarnished look at the psychological toll of abuse while avoiding melodrama.

The cinematography contrasts the idyllic beginnings of Blanche and Greg's relationship with the dark, oppressive atmosphere of its descent, enhancing the emotional weight of the story. The score, subtle yet haunting, underscores the film's themes of love turned toxic.

*Just the Two of Us* is a powerful and unrelenting film that speaks to the complexities of abusive relationships. Best watched in a quiet setting, it's a story that demands attention and reflection, shining a light on the courage it takes to confront and escape such situations.

Rating: 8/10 - A tense, emotionally charged depiction of love and its dangerous shadows.

A very serious story that is a brilliant base for the topic of abusive relationships. Any woman, starting at a young age, should understand such things. I think this movie would be great for such a topic. The context of the story perfectly captured the essence of such relationships and what kind of relationships they lead to.

The whole movie had me in suspense. The feeling was mixed with romance that quickly faded away. The good thing is that real happiness was still present. Thanks to such a cocktail of emotions, I was not left indifferent.

Undoubtedly, I would not have experienced such emotions if not for the amazing actors. They perfectly conveyed the necessary emotions. Both fear and anger were in the actors' faces and I still remember these scenes.

In addition to the acting talents, I would like to mention the good musical accompaniment that added color to the context of the scenes. These sounds did not let me forget what abusive behavior is.

Interesting overall and keeps up the tension. However, a few things made me feel like it's a movie designed to fit an agenda rather than something realistic:

1. The female lead is too old for this role. She looks mid-40s, and it simply feels strange, even somewhat comical, that a guy would be madly in love with her. She even looks a bit older than the guy!

2. it's unlikely that this narcissist/psychopath guy wouldn't give himself up for so long. It's hard for psychopaths to keep up their facade, so they slip up pretty often. Here it's until she has 2 kids from him that he suddenly starts acting like a different person. If anything, it's unclear why he'd keep a perfect facade for several years, as there wasn't any clear gain from that

3. It's unclear why she'd obey him. Did he train her for years with clever psychological manipulations? We only see 1 instance of it at the very start of their relationship when he criticizes her hairstyle but that's it. So, to the viewer, the transition of her from an adored (aged) queen to a victim of abuse is too abrupt to look believable. Also, if she felt herself in physical danger, why wouldn't she just take the kids and drive to her relatives while the guy was at work? It's not like he'd keep her locked up in a basement

4. The guy in the second half of the movis is impulsive and erratic. It's unlikely that, with such temper, he would be able to work in finance successfully and simply earn enough to buy a house or whatever

It's a movie made "by women for women", to basically present "how bad men can be", with too little reality-checking because the author has an agenda.

Somehow I got the impression Valerie Donzelli, whom I like as an actress, is a competent director; looking back I have only seen her _Declaration of War_, which left little impression. Her new directorial effort _Just the Two of Us_ is truly dreadful from the first minute to the last. It starts out with rapid close-ups of different characters, in TV-editing style, before we have even figured out who they are. It doesn't help that Virginie Efira plays two of them (for a while I was convince one is the fractured alter ego of the other!), and every five seconds Donzelli switches color filter. It makes your head explode. Efira is always fascinating to watch, but she is arguably not a versatile enough actress to bring life to both roles with only a change of haircut. Or perhaps it is the director's fault, giving her other character no screen time?

The domestic abuse theme is tepid. It doesn't help that I just finished watching another Efira film (_An Impossible Love_) in which her character is much more sympathetic, and even more of a domestic abuse doormat. That film by Catherine Corsini is no cinematic masterpiece either, but at least it isn't visually assaultive. The screenplay of _Just the Two of Us_ features cringe-inducing voiceover too; astonishingly, it won a Cesar best screenplay prize!

The only saving grace is the appearance by actresses I haven't seen in a while: Marie Riviere as Efira's character's mother, and Laurence Cote who used to be in films by Rivette (although I barely recognize her).

Watching these two films by female French directors -- one bland, the other like a poke in the eye -- makes me wonder why French and American critics hate Melanie Laurent so much. Laurent is a hundred times better than these two put together. I suppose that is her one unforgivable sin -- making the critics' darlings and festival inner circle crowd such as Donzelli, Corsini, Maiwenn, and the truly dreadful Mia Hansen-Love look like amateurs.