5 x 2 (Five Times Two)
Have no mistake, five times two is brilliant. I am hard to please when it comes to films, especially ones that pertain to dissect relationships so this film needed to do a lot to please and that it certainly did. A film of five acts, it tells the story of a couple’s relationship falling apart and the carnage that ensues from dissecting assets, arguing over their son and arranging a divorce.
5x2 is an uncomfortable and painful film to watch, mainly because these are feelings that we have all experienced at one time or another. We are looking deep into a stranger’s relationship and peering into worlds that we would never normally have access too. True it is painful to watch but it also helps us to feel painfully human. We all have stupid arguments, we all shout about the washing up when really there is something else burning away. This film shines a light back at ourselves and exposes the flaws in all of us. This is not the glossy, more than perfect relationship narrative that is regurgitated out of Hollywood over and over again. This is a unison in its rawest, ugliest and most honest form. It’s desperately refreshing to see it in this way.
What is particularly skilful about five times two is that it retells the story backwards. The opening act sees the couple organising their divorce and the painful, fraught discussions that ensue. When the film ends we see them just meeting and, unbelievably, the film ends on a happy, uplifting note. Looking back, the film is almost entirely split into the painful, saddening fall apart of their relationship to the joyous moments of their meeting, dating and marriage. It is actually a uplifting film (in the main) because it ends on such a joyous note.
| Merchant | Title | Price |
 | 5 x 2 (Five Times Two) | £14.99 |
