Two of Us

Madeleine and Nina, a retired same-sex couple living in France, love to dance to Petula Clark’s French-language hit “Chariot” in their spacious apartment. In fact, they have two spacious apartments — Madeleine’s homey abode, where they live, and Nina’s identical but nearly empty apartment across the hall, which Nina pretends to inhabit when Madeleine’s adult children come over. The women have been together for decades, but Madeleine has never told her two stuck-up kids. This will become a problem for Nina, when Mado (as Nina called her beloved) has a health crisis.

Calling Two of Us an “end of life” movie makes it sound dreary and downbeat, but Amour this is not. It’s a lively portrait of the ends to which love may drive a person determined to provide her wife with the support she needs. It’s also about risks: the risk of coming out to possibly unsupportive family members, the risk of not coming out at all, and the risk of never letting go.

As the film begins, the women are planning an escape to Rome, where they hope to spend the rest of their retirement in the city that first sparked their romance. But when Mado winds up in the care of her uptight daughter Anne, Nina has to improvise.

German actress Barbara Sukowa plays Nina (who’s said to be from Berlin) with an admirable possessive intensity. Director and co-writer Filippo Meneghetti wisely makes Nina an imperfect character — a bit pushy, short-tempered, and undiplomatic. Not all her decisions are wise, but they’re driven by a deep passion.

As Mado, Martine Chevallier (“of La Comédie Française,” the credits trumpet) is sweet and huggable — a woman who has never liked confrontation but has to find new strength to get back to Nina. Léa Drucker is quite good in the thankless role of the overburdened daughter, a single mother who’s quick to judge everyone.

Two of Us is concise and moving — a good companion film to Supernova, about a same-sex male couple facing a different health challenge. It’s full of fine acting and suspenseful situations — Nina uses her key to Mado’s apartment more than she should — and it never gets preachy or mushy. A subplot about an unfriendly caregiver is something of a contrivance, and Mado’s ungrateful grown son is barely sketched in, but no matter. The two leads are quite wonderful and you’ll never doubt their love for a moment.

Grade: A-minus. Not rated, but PG-13 equivalent. Now available to rent via grailmoviehouse.com

(Photo courtesy of Magnolia Pictures)