Framescourer Five episodes, told in reverse, of a couple's history. Almost from the start - in a magistrate's office, finalising a divorce - nothing is quite what it seems. Ozon's backwards story telling is enlightening, obscuring causality so that the episodes in the couple's life become case studies for their mature dinner-party conversation. The increasing warmth and charm of the couple is real in each sequence but becomes isolated from the story arc, suspended.I watched the film without a sense of pathos then. An hour in I wasn't thinking 'what a shame, they seemed so in love', for example, but rather, 'yes, that's roughly what it's like at that stage - does that tally with what they discussed earlier in the film?'. In each of the episodes is a peculiar event that is rather unusual in anyone's experience. Ozon really does want us to think about the strange, cumulative nature of love rather than just watch the handsome couple's experience played out on screen.And it is a handsome couple, in a classically French way: Stéphane Freiss (Gilles) is older, rather grizzled; his (ex-)wife Marion played by Valeria Bruni Tedeschi is youthful, appealing and unconventionally pretty (she also has a magnetically natural, sexy walk). Their performances are perfectly good although I think that they operate at the same rather detached intellectual level of the director. I admire the film but couldn't abandon myself to it. 5/10

paul2001sw-1 Anyone who knows director Francois Ozon only for his daft musical comedy 'Eight Women' might be rather shocked by the first scene of this movie, a nasty moment of post-marital rape. The film consists of five episodes in a couple's life (hence the title), the obvious point for comparison is Bergman's 'Scenes from a Marriage', and the novelty is that we see the episodes in reverse order. After watching the first one, I was filled with dread at the horrors I would witness thereafter, seeing the poison creep into the relationship, with a growing theme of retrospectively false hope - I thought this would be a very harrowing movie. Instead, none of this happens. Ozon samples the marriage more than tells its full story, many of the scenes hint at the subtle complexity of the relationship between man and wife, but this is not a narrative of destruction, just a collection of snapshots from two lives. There are moments of perception, others seem less adept (I didn't believe the American businessman, for example); but whereas Bergman seemed to show character as destiny, here there's an incidental quality to the plot, and though I enjoyed the movie, ultimately I wasn't quite sure of its point.

M A This movie is about the director's scepticism about monogamy, fidelity and last but not least, marriage.I believe the message Ozon is trying to get across through this movie is right in the conversation about relationships among the 2 pair of couples in the 2nd scene, and I think his belief was projected in what was said by the young boyfriend of the gay brother of Gilles, which in essence is that for some people, to settle for one person for his/her entire life is against human nature and disaster will be doomed to ensue.In my view, Gilles should not have got married at all and should probably remain single for his life. And Marion was obviously too untamed and not ready for marriage let alone raising a kid. A nice movie which features a few very beautiful scenes, the sharp contrast between the romantic dance of Marion's parents and Marion's immediate unfaithful adultery, the complicated emotions of a recently divorced couple trying to have sex which turned somewhat into a horrific "rape" which was somewhat "consented" by the woman's apparently reluctant submission, the dance between Marion, Gilles's brother and his boyfriend while Gilles was left alone in the sofa watching them. The music was first-rate and made the movie a soothing experience.

ags123 Five episodes in a married couple's life, presented backwards. No special effects. Plenty of sex. What a blessed relief to come across an adult film for a change. Actually, every film by Francois Ozon is adult in nature, whether he's having pure fun (8 Women), playing mind games (Swimming Pool), or here, in a character driven story like "5X2." Its success depends heavily on a great script and great performances, and all are in evidence. The couple first appear to be unlikable, but the more we learn about them, the more sympathetic they become. The film gets sunnier (literally and figuratively) as it regresses all the way to a bittersweet ending - their happiest moment that we know won't last. Ozon respects the audience's intelligence. He doesn't spell everything out for us. There's much to ponder and debate after the film is over. My only criticism is all that smoking. Haven't the French gotten over that yet? Smart use of Paolo Conte's haunting song "Sparring Partner." Beautifully done.