5x2 is composed of five important episodes depicting key stages of a couple’s relationship, told backwards chronologically.  Director Francois Ozon’s (SITCOM, CRIMINAL LOVERS, 8 WOMEN, SWIMMING POOL) film is not the first to be delivered in this order – the recent French drama IRREVERSIBLE and Aussie Jane Campion’s TWO FRIENDS come immediately to mind. 5x2 starts with Marion (Valeria Bruni-Tedeschi) and Gilles’ (Stéphane Freiss) lengthy divorce proceedings finalized by the judge (Jean-Pol Brissart) and goes back in time to the couple frolicking on an Italian beach.

The theme is perhaps more similar to Campion’s TWO FRIENDS, which also begins with the break-up of two lovers.  As 5x2 progresses (or regresses) to the past, the couple is transported to jollier times. In fact, Ozon comments that the initial segment is like Bergman while the last is more Lelouch. The tone and pacing of the film which shifts during each of the five segments make 5x2 more watchable (helped by Italian pop tunes) than IRREVERSIBLE which is monotonously heavy from finish to start.

It is clear at the end of the first 20 minutes and first segment that Ozon wishes the viewer to investigate the causes behind the failings of the marriage/relationship. When the second segment begins (Ozon dispenses with.  Ozon offers strong clues such as Gilles’ failure to show up at one of the most crucial moments in Marion’s life – the almost fatal delivery of the baby. Still, nothing is in black and white, and the viewer is never sure what is happening on screen.  Marion obviously forgives Gilles as she tells her mother (the still remarkable Francoise Fabian) that at least he has showed up (though late). The busy traffic – the reason for the tardiness, according to Gilles - is not pursued further. On the other hand, Marion has a fling with an American (Jason Tavassoli) before the child’s birth, an event that could contribute to empathy for the husband. All of these incidents make compulsive viewing though one could argue that the results are not necessarily satisfying as Ozon is a director not fond of conclusions. Yet the Master of Suspense, Hitchcock has stressed time and again, that the content of a film hardly matters but what one does with it that counts. He once mentioned that if the identity of a killer (as in FRENZY) is revealed early in the film, then more suspense can be generated with every move the killer now makes. The same argument will hold true for this film in which the viewer knows that the couple breaks up at the end.

Ozon adds in his two cents (humor and insight as a gay director) worth with the second dinner party segment in which Gilles discusses relationships with his gay brother and his younger boy toy.  Ozon’s irony is having Gilles criticize his bother’s doomed affair while himself unaware that his is going down the drain.  5x2 is marked by incredible performances of leads Bruni-Tedeschi and Freiss.  For example, their sex scene following their divorce is especially difficult to watch. They without a doubt, carry the entire film from the first frame. Veteran Michel Lonsdale gives a welcome cameo as Gilles’ father-in-law, as does Francoise Fabian.

It is interesting to note that the film’s DVD (out in France) has a special edition of the film entitled 2x5 done in chronological order after some major editing work. At least no one can complain too, that 5x2 has a predictable beginning. Still, the glimpse of the unremoved wedding band on Gilles’ middle finger indicates an open conclusion to be determined by the individual viewer.