Two of Us

Two of Us is one of my favourite WLW love stories I’ve seen in a while. It depicts an exceedingly tender and resilient love story between two older women. Not only did I cry at Two of Us but the stranger to my right and the stranger to my left in the theatre did as well. You probably will too.

The lead characters in Two of Us are couple Mado and Nina. They have been in love for decades though are still not out to Mado’s children. Instead, they live as neighbours and Mado’s family thinks Nina just a friend. However, this deception causes a problem when Mado suffers a stroke. Rendered non-verbal and needing round the clock care, Mado’s medical decisions are placed in the hands of her children who have no knowledge of the role Nina plays in her life. But Nina refuses to be shut out and turned away from caring for the woman she loves. Nina goes to great lengths including bribery, sneaking in at night and eventually honesty to take care of Mado.

Two of Us is a very unique film because of its depiction of old age. It’s already rare to see any film deal with senior citizens and rarer still for them to be LGBTQ* individuals. But what takes Two of Us further still is that this is not a story about death. Unlike most films involving a senior citizen having a health crisis, Mado doesn’t die at the end. Nina isn’t fighting to take care of Mado because she thinks Mado will die soon. Nina is doing it because she continues to want to have a life with Mado. Two of Us is a rare film that offers hope that a senior couple can still have a life and find happiness together after a health scare.

The lead actresses give great performances with this tender story. Barbara Sukowa as Nina gives a performance with as much talent and depth as this brilliantly written character deserves. She was pitch-perfect. Complimenting her perfectly is Martine Chevallier as Mado. Chebvllier is brilliant in how clear and telling even the smallest of her facial expressions were to what her character is feeling. This serves the movie well as past the first act, Chevallier’s role becomes non-verbal and steeped in physical limitations of her character. Chevallier still manages to express through minute expresses what is going on in Mado’s head as clearly as though she had spoken it aloud.

Two of Us is director Filippo Meneghetti’s narrative feature debut but you wouldn’t know it from looking at it. Two of Us is an incredibly well-shot film. Meneghetti knows how to milk emotion from every scene that requires it. And visually, the film is better looking than it needed to be given its very character-driven nature. A common trick he employs is to have the camera focus on something innocuous in the foreground while the real action happens in the background. Meneghetti knows how to fill a frame with visual interest. There is such depth to the way he shoots scenes. Additional kudos should be given to the set decorators. They are the ones to actually fill the scenes with objects that walk the line between being visually interesting but not distracting from the story.

There is a minor subplot that bothers me. It is the one critique I have about Two of Us. The first scene depicts two girls playing hide and seek and one of them vanishes. In the rest of the film, both Nina and Mado have dreams or visions of this girl a few times. This plot doesn’t go anywhere. The film would have lost nothing by cutting it out. However, it is so unimportant it also doesn’t detract from the movie’s main plot and incredible emotional resonance.

Two of Us is an incredibly moving film. I have rarely seen a love story as enduring as this one. There is intimacy, tenderness and adoration between these women. And when times get tough, their love endures without falter. Two of Us does what I think movies exist to do; to make its audience feel empathy for people in a situation they might never experience in the real world. And while the leads are two women and that representation is important, the core relationship is something that could and should be universally moving and celebrated. Please check this movie out. It’s a small but special film that offers numerous scenes that will make you cry while still ending on a message of hope.

Overall rating: 9.4/10

Other WLW films in similar genres