(Finland/Lithuania. 84 min.)
Written and directed by Mikko Kuparinen
Starring: Marie-Josée Croze, Mikko Nousianinen
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| Photo courtesy of the Canadian Film Institute. |
Canada’s Marie-Josée Croze gives a captivating performance
in 2 Nights Till Morning. As
Caroline, the complicated workaholic who has a layover with destiny in this seductive Finnish-Lithuanian
co-pro, the actress delivers her best work since her Genie Award and Cannes
prize-winning performance in Oscar winner The
Barbarian Invasions. Croze finds a strong screen partner in Mikko Nousianinen
as Caroline flirts with the idea of making a connection with his Finnish DJ
Jaakko when they meet at a hotel bar in Vilnius, Lithuania. In the vein of
Richard Linklater’s Before Sunrise
and Danièle Thompson’s Jet Lag, this
talky and mature two-hander offers a whirlwind romance for mature audiences.
It’s a wonderful, refreshing film driven by a pair of excellent performances.
The premise is simple, but sincere. The pair meets and has a lot of fun over drinks. Caroline, not wanting to commit, pretends she doesn’t speak a word of English. Jaakko humorously falls for the ruse, but the pair needs few words to convey what develops between them. The lack of a common language, however, foreshadows their affair.
Cut to the next morning and a one-night stand evolves into a
longer trip as Caroline encounters a flight delay as all planes are grounded. Inspired
by the 2010 eruptions at Eyjafjallajökull,
ash clouds from Iceland halt travellers everywhere and cause havoc with trips
and hotel rooms. Jaakko, ever the gentleman (and opportunist), invites Caroline
to extend her stay in his room. Hesitantly, cautiously, Caroline accepts.
2 Days Till Morning
gives the could-be-lovers two nights in a foreign city to get to know one
another and explore the potential for true love. As the pair chats in English
(Jaakko quickly discovers Caroline’s charade), they learn that differences
greater than language could ultimately divide them. All the while, each one has
an impending flight out of Lithuania as soon as the ash cloud clears, so the
fear of making connections is strong on either end.
The film effortlessly takes the characters through a
passionate courtship that teaches both Caroline and Jaakko the art of
communication. Distracted and divided by technology, especially Caroline, who
always has some sort of screen before her eyes, the two lovers find themselves
in a kind of stopover as ash cripples the airwaves and a lack of Wi-Fi forces
person-to-person communication. The pleasure of an unmediated relationship intensifies
the urgency they feel to explore this connection. The film relishes the passion
of living in the moment and away from the screens as the pair’s strongest and
sharpest moments happen away from contemporary communication devices. Words
hurt and heal more than an email or text ever could. The film resonates with
its association of setting, character, and themes, as time and technology put
the lovers in an existential limbo as they re-evaluate their lives and consider
new travel plans.
Writer/director Mikko Kuparinen, who scooped the Best
Director award for this film at last year’s Montreal World Film Festival, lets
the drama unfold in a personal exchange of fluid, natural, and engaging conversations
as Caroline and Jaakko discover each other through carefully composed
revelations. The film’s use of space and composition allows the actors’ eyes to
say even more as glances and eye-line matches reveal how much these guarded
characters wish to say. Handsome cinematography by Tuomo Virtanen is warm and
intoxicatingly romantic, while a contemporary Euro-pop soundtrack creates a dreamy
atmosphere of youth and discovery.
The real seduction, however, comes through the pair of
natural performances by Croze and Nousianinen. The actors create complex,
complicated characters who feel invigoratingly authentic with their insecurities
and desires. Croze tackles an especially challenging part as Caroline waffles
between a life of comfort and convenience and one that promises risks and
rewards. The actors smoothly handle this dialogue-driven film as 2 Nights Till Morning invites the lovers
to wander and explore foreign terrain. Just as much as words and communication
play a central role in the film, silence says even more as Kuparinen lets
interludes of wordless desire envelope Caroline and Jaakko in their mutual
longing. The attraction is palpable, intimate, and as revitalising as a new
love.
2 Nights Till Morning screens at the Canadian Film Institute’s
Bright Nights: The Baltic-Nordic Film Festival on Friday, Feb. 19 at the River
Building Theatre, Carleton University.
Please visit www.cfi-icf.ca for more information.
