--- title: "Two Days, One Night: the reviews" canonical: "https://film.one/film/two-days-one-night/reviews" title_page: "https://film.one/film/two-days-one-night" critics_score: 84 critics_reviews: 24 licence: "© Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL." --- # Two Days, One Night (2014): what the critics said Critics' score 84 from 24 reviews: 24 positive, 0 mixed, 0 negative. The reviews are uniformly positive, with praise clustering around Marion Cotillard’s portrayal of depression, exhaustion and determination. Most critics find her performance restrained and credible, giving Sandra’s weekend campaign to save her job an urgency that several compare to a thriller. The Dardennes’ naturalistic direction also earns broad approval for making economic pressure tangible without losing sympathy for the colleagues Sandra asks to sacrifice their bonuses. Critics repeatedly single out the combination of suspense, moral difficulty and concern for working people. The differences concern how successfully the repeated doorstep appeals sustain that tension, with enthusiasm ranging from warm approval to emphatic praise. Slant Magazine finds schematic elements that Cotillard’s performance helps overcome, while Eye for Film notes some contrived plotting. Collider offers the clearest reservation: it finds the repetition monotonous and the approach too stiff to encourage emotional involvement. That frustration is unusual among reviews that largely find the encounters gripping. ## Little White Lies — David Jenkins Rating 5/5/5. 22 August 2014. The Dardennes craft a shattering masterpiece that undercuts preconceptions while examining repetition, individualism and social diversity through a simple episodic quest. Cotillard delivers a monumental, subtle performance in this near-incomprehensible moral and political complexity. [Read the review](https://lwlies.com/reviews/two-days-one-night) ## The AV Club — A.A. Dowd Rating A. 23 December 2014. The Dardennes craft a humane, uplifting drama about economic struggle and personal resilience; Cotillard delivers an emotionally expressive lead performance that anchors the film's series of moral confrontations. [Read the review](https://www.avclub.com/marion-cotillard-is-a-weekend-warrior-in-the-beautiful-1798182279) ## The Guardian Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 21 August 2014. The Dardenne brothers have outdone themselves with this heartwrenching social-realist drama about a factory worker lobbying colleagues to save her job. Marion Cotillard delivers a subtly magnificent, authentic central performance that anchors the film's narrative tension and themes of solidarity. [Read the review](https://www.theguardian.com/film/2014/aug/21/two-days-one-night-review-marion-cotillard-dardenne) ## The New York Times — A.O. Scott Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 24 December 2014. The film is a suspenseful, sobering account of a factory worker's frantic weekend campaign to save her job by persuading colleagues to forgo bonuses. Cotillard delivers one of the finest screen performances in years through her raw, unadorned portrayal of vulnerability and resolve. [Read the review](https://www.nytimes.com/2014/12/24/movies/two-days-one-night-from-jean-pierre-and-luc-dardenne.html) ## The Telegraph — Robbie Collin Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 21 August 2014. The Dardennes deliver deft social-realist drama with moral rigour that grips like a thriller. Cotillard is superb in an authentic portrayal of depression as the protagonist canvasses co-workers over a weekend to save her job. [Read the review](https://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/film/11048309/Two-Days-One-Night-review-Marion-Cotillard-is-superb.html) ## Time Out — Dave Calhoun Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 18 August 2014. The Dardennes deliver one of their best films with searing relevance and compassion about doing the right thing under economic pressure. Cotillard gives a career-high performance as a mother fighting for her job and self-worth in this humane political drama. [Read the review](https://www.timeout.com/movies/two-days-one-night) ## Variety — Scott Foundas Fi1m's normalised score 90/100 (inferred from the text). 20 May 2014. Festival review. The Dardennes maintain their signature verisimilitude while integrating a major star, delivering another richly observed working-class drama infused with ticking-clock suspense. Cotillard seamlessly disappears into the role, bringing subtle emotional depth as Sandra fights for dignity and solidarity. [Read the review](https://variety.com/2014/film/reviews/cannes-film-review-marion-cotillard-shines-in-two-days-one-night-1201186779/) ## Empire — Kim Newman Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 22 July 2014. The Dardennes deliver a credible portrait of victims in a cruel social system that doubles as gripping drama in the vein of 12 Angry Men. Cotillard gives an outstanding, deeply inhabited lead performance that makes the simple story stick with viewers. [Read the review](https://www.empireonline.com/movies/reviews/two-days-one-night-review/) ## Film Comment — Max Nelson Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 1 November 2014. The Dardennes deliver a radiant film with one of their best stories, following Sandra as she visits co-workers over a weekend to save her job. It has the open-endedness of a parable and the ambiguity of an ethical thought experiment. [Read the review](https://www.filmcomment.com/article/review-two-days-one-night-dardennes/) ## Sight and Sound — Tony Rayns Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 20 August 2014. The Dardenne brothers deliver a feelgood story of personal growth and social solidarity wrapped in naturalistic realism. Cotillard's committed performance as a woman fighting for her job and mental stability stands out amid the episodic weekend canvassing. [Read the review](https://www.bfi.org.uk/sight-and-sound/reviews/two-days-one-night-review) ## Evening Standard — Charlotte O'Sullivan Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 22 August 2014. The film celebrates solidarity and respect among co-workers through a tight script and Cotillard's extraordinary performance that makes every minute feel life-or-death. Strong ensemble acting and deceptively simple camerawork highlight characters' lack of space and money. [Read the review](https://www.standard.co.uk/culture/film/two-days-one-night-film-review-thanks-to-an-extraordinary-performance-from-marion-cotillard-it-feels-like-a-lifeordeath-affair-9685002.html) ## Screen Daily Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 20 May 2014. Festival review. The Dardennes' finely scripted issue movie throws workers' impossible choices into stark relief through a nuanced, compassionate portrait of a struggling community. Cotillard's raw performance as a depressed woman fighting to save her job makes it powerful and incisive. [Read the review](https://www.screendaily.com/two-days-one-night/5072210.article) ## The Hollywood Reporter — David Rooney Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 20 May 2014. Festival review. The Dardennes deliver another affecting drama about workplace injustice and human dignity, with Cotillard giving a piercing, emotionally transparent performance as a woman fighting to keep her job. [Read the review](https://www.hollywoodreporter.com/news/general-news/two-days-one-night-deux-705835/) ## Slant Magazine — Ed Gonzalez Fi1m's normalised score 75/100 (inferred from the text). 21 September 2014. The Dardennes continue their socialist-humanist explorations with a soul-stirring tale of solidarity and self-worth; Cotillard gives a nuanced, haunted performance that elevates the film's schematic elements. [Read the review](https://www.slantmagazine.com/film/two-days-one-night/) ## Los Angeles Times — Betsy Sharkey Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 8 January 2015. The film functions as an unlikely thriller built around Sandra's high-stakes weekend mission to reclaim her job amid economic pressures. Cotillard gives one of her strongest performances by stripping away artifice to convey deep insecurity, weariness, and quiet determination. [Read the review](https://www.latimes.com/entertainment/movies/la-et-mn-two-days-one-night-review-20150109-column.html) ## The New Yorker — Anthony Lane Fi1m's normalised score 70/100 (inferred from the text). 29 December 2014. The Dardennes craft a taut, vote-hunting thriller from Sandra's door-to-door appeals, sustaining suspense despite the repetitive structure. Cotillard excels by fully embodying the character's anxiety and depletion, dropping all star glamour for a raw, committed turn. [Read the review](https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2015/01/05/good-fights-4) ## The Playlist — The Playlist Staff Rating A. 26 December 2014. The Dardennes deliver a gripping social realist parable and character study centered on Cotillard’s riveting performance as a woman fighting to reclaim her job and dignity. It balances moral allegory, thriller elements, and human depth with an uplifting, perfectly judged ending. [Read the review](https://theplaylist.net/review-the-dardenne-brothers-two-days-one-night-starring-marion-cotillard-20141226/) ## Consequence Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 3 December 2014. The film offers an intense, intimate character study of depression through Cotillard's tour-de-force performance as Sandra, who pleads for her job over a weekend. The Dardennes create a hypnotic, relentless portrait of emotional struggle, sacrifice, and quiet nobility amid economic pressures. [Read the review](https://consequence.net/2014/12/film-review-two-days-one-night/) ## The Wrap Fi1m's normalised score 85/100 (inferred from the text). 30 December 2014. The critic finds the film a damning yet understated look at economic exploitation of the working class, praising the Dardennes' naturalistic style with long takes and minimal music. Cotillard delivers one of her most absorbing performances as the vulnerable yet determined protagonist. [Read the review](https://www.thewrap.com/two-days-one-night-review-marion-cotillard-dardenne-brothers/) ## Paste — Tim Grierson Rating 8.4/10. 10 September 2014. Festival review. The Dardennes craft another intimate, realist drama with strong suspense and humanity drawn from Sandra's encounters with coworkers. Cotillard delivers a restrained, emotionally fragile performance that anchors the film's exploration of economic hardship and moral choices. [Read the review](https://www.pastemagazine.com/movies/two-days-one-night-2014-tiff-review) ## Digital Spy — Emma Dibdin Rating 4/5. 21 August 2014. Marion Cotillard captures the despair and paralysis of depression with grace in this moving drama about a woman fighting to keep her job. It emerges as a psychologically rich and quietly uplifting modern-day morality play. [Read the review](https://www.digitalspy.com/movies/a591553/two-days-one-night-review-marion-cotillard-in-moving-drama/) ## Eye for Film — Richard Mowe Fi1m's normalised score 80/100 (inferred from the text). 20 May 2014. Festival review. Sandra must persuade her co-workers over two days to sacrifice their bonuses to save her job after a factory vote. Cotillard delivers a bravura, introspective performance amid rich observation and building tension, though some plot elements feel contrived. [Read the review](https://www.eyeforfilm.co.uk/review/two-days-one-night-2014-film-review-by-richard-mowe) ## HeyUGuys — Jo-Ann Titmarsh Rating 4/5. 21 May 2014. Festival review. The Dardennes continue their focus on working-class struggles with Sandra (Marion Cotillard) desperately trying to save her job over one weekend by convincing colleagues to forgo bonuses. The film is moving and naturalistic, with Cotillard shining in every scene and strong support from the ensemble. [Read the review](https://www.heyuguys.com/cannes-2014-two-days-one-night-review/) ## Collider — Perri Nemiroff Rating B. 5 October 2014. Festival review. The core premise raises compelling questions about workplace ethics and personal stakes, but the repetitive, monotonous execution makes it hard to connect with the depressed protagonist or feel invested in her fight. Cotillard's performance is convincing yet the overall approach feels stiff and frustrating. [Read the review](https://collider.com/two-days-one-night-review/) --- © Fi1m Ltd. Written by AI under a human editor; checked against sources before publication. Quote with attribution and a link to the canonical URL. Our review: https://film.one/film/two-days-one-night.md