Deux jours, une nuit 2014

Farran Smith Nehme, New York Post: The Dardenne brothers - known for their scruffy, hand-held, realist aesthetic - have made another richly emotional film about friendship and community. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: The premise is as simple as a biblical parable, and as densely packed with significance. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: A dilemma so simple and so timely, it barely feels like fiction. Read more

Scott Foundas, Variety: The Dardenne brothers take on a movie star and lose none of their beautifully observed verisimilitude in another powerhouse slice of working-class Belgian life. Read more

A.A. Dowd, AV Club: Two Days, One Night is a small miracle of a movie, a drama so purely humane that it makes most attempts at audience uplift look crass and calculated by comparison. Read more

Bill Goodykoontz, Arizona Republic: There is strength in simplicity, something the Dardenne brothers' "Two Days, One Night" and its brilliant star, Marion Cotillard, prove emphatically. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: Coursing underneath the film's calm, observant surface is a fury at a system that sets people in the same leaky boat at each other's throats. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: In film after film the Dardennes have proven themselves the cinema's most acute humanist critics of predatory capitalism; this masterful drama finds them at the top of their game. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: Cannes Film Festival director Thierry Fremaux called it a "Belgian Western," and it's true; echoes of "High Noon" and others reverberate in its bones. Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: None of this would work if Cotillard's performance weren't so forthright and deeply felt. Read more

Lisa Kennedy, Denver Post: Consider Marion Cotillard's Oscar-nominated performance in Two Days, One Night a tour de nuance. Read more

Chris Nashawaty, Entertainment Weekly: Cotillard's Sandra is asking a question not only of her colleagues but of the audience, too: Are we willing to put aside our own self-interest for the sake of empathy? Are we cowardly or brave? Read more

David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter: Specialists in unvarnished intimacy, the Dardenne brothers add another clear-eyed contemplation of stark social reality to their impressive output. Read more

Betsy Sharkey, Los Angeles Times: The Dardennes take us into the ecosystem of need. By the time they are through, they've cut a wide swath that covers most of the issues of the working class. Read more

Rene Rodriguez, Miami Herald: Sooner or later, we all need a helping hand in our lives. But what happens when you need to convince people to extend one? Read more

John Anderson, Newsday: A rare thing, a socio-economic thriller, with a moving performance by Cotillard. Read more

Anthony Lane, New Yorker: Cotillard looks dwindled and drained, leached of allure by the unkind pallor of the lighting. Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: Yes, "Two Days, One Night" is a story about courage, and resilience and victory. But it also suggests that sometimes the best victory one can wish for is the ability to keep fighting, one day longer. Read more

Bob Mondello, NPR: [A] slice of pressurized middle-class life ... so real, it feels a bit like a documentary. Read more

Joe Neumaier, New York Daily News: Directors Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne have always had a feel for the rhythms of everyday dramas in unexceptional lives, and here they use their skill and empathy expertly. Read more

A.O. Scott, New York Times: Ms. Cotillard's performance is as fine a piece of screen acting as you will ever see. Read more

Steven Rea, Philadelphia Inquirer: The Dardennes are aces at these small-scale human dramas, and Two Days, One Night is almost without flaw ... Read more

Christy Lemire, RogerEbert.com: Even when "Two Days, One Night" drags a bit, Cotillard's performance remains compelling. Read more

Peter Travers, Rolling Stone: Cotillard is magnificent, her luminous eyes reflecting a soul in crisis. The Dardenne brothers have created a film for its time, bristling with peril and alive to every flicker of human decency. Read more

Calvin Wilson, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: As with their previous films, the brothers cast a discerning gaze on working-class lives, without preachiness or sentimentality. Read more

Jon Frosch, The Atlantic: Affecting and expertly made as it is, the movie's tight focus and streamlined quality left me wanting more. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: As usual, the Dardenne brothers are never heavy-handed, but also not coy about their politics. Read more

Alonso Duralde, TheWrap: Takes a damning look at how the modern economy handles the working class without ever overstating the case. Read more

Dave Calhoun, Time Out: The Dardennes are never less than reliable, but this is one of their best, up there with The Child or Rosetta in its cast-iron sense of purpose. Read more

Michelle Orange, Village Voice: What anchors Two Days, One Night, and eases its gaps, is Cotillard's extraordinary performance. Read more

Ann Hornaday, Washington Post: As a parable on karma, capitalism and Darwinian corporate politics, "Two Days, One Night" can often feel brutal. As a testament to connection, service, sacrifice and self-worth, it's a soaring, heart-rending hymn. Read more