Cast: Julie Deply, Adam Goldberg

Director: Julie Deply

As the credits roll, your jaw is sure to drop in astonishment as Julie Deply is here, there and everywhere, from acting to writing, directing, editing and even composing! Reminds you of Robert Rodriguez’ title cards that read “shot, chopped and scored by Robert Rodriguez”. Deply’s movie, of course, is very different from Rodriguez blood-soaked neo-westerns.

2 Days in Paris tells the story of Marion, a photographer, who lives with her American boyfriend Jack, an interior designer, in New York. On their way back from a vacation in Europe, the couple stop over for two days in Paris where Jack meets Marion’s eccentric parents, and her many ex-lovers.

The situation rapidly spirals out of control and suddenly Jack and Marion feel like complete strangers to each other. The movie follows all the traditions of a romantic comedy, but puts in clever subversions, that ensure that the film is not in the least predictable.

Deply has boldly gone where others fear to tread. From making the leads not particularly likable — Jack is a whiny hypochondriac and Marion is a flirtatious control freak with anger issues — to taking on racist taxi drivers, Jim Morrison’s grave, Da Vinci Code enthusiasts and western paedophiles running lose in Thailand.

The most delicious subversion, of course, is the whole concept of Paris being this city of love but where Jack and Marion’s love comes unravelled. The intensely talky, busy film, ensures that the final calm is relished that much more. This is Sex and the City complete with psychobabble voiceover in Paris without any of the designer airbrushing or any of the clichés.

MAC

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