Summary
Netflix’s new film Two completely obliterated the glass ceiling I had cynically placed above it. Whether you’re a dedicated admirer of the art form and all of its intricacies, or a more casual fan who’s reached below the surface of the mainstream, there is an awful lot to like here.
This review of Netflix film Two does not contain spoilers.
Two follows David (Pablo Derqui) and Sara (Marina Gatell), a pair of strangers who wake up in a room with no clue of how they got there. What’s more bizarre, however, is the fact that both of their abdomens have been surgically attached to each other. Very quickly, what started off as a situation that may have caused both parties to have a few regrets snowballs into something far more sinister that there is no guarantee either of them will get out of.
Netflix film Two does not hang about in getting off the starting line. It drops you right into the thick of it, and you experience everything at the same time as the characters. An open mind helps in the opening ten minutes or so, and if you can get beyond the initial what-in-the-Human-Centipede-is-going-on-here shock of it all, you will have a very good time indeed. What I liked about the film was this idea that you couldn’t trust any part of what you were seeing. It was very much like you had woken up in the room with David and Sara, and whilst not quite the same life-or-death stakes that they were dealing with, to take anything at face value would surely prove to be a mistake.
As things progressed, the mystery thickened. Two is a terrific display of what can be done within the confines of a very scaled-back set, and combined with all of the tiny breadcrumbs it constantly dropped it soon began to share a lot of the same qualities as an escape room, which is probably the best way to describe the overall vibe of the film. Of course, saying this implies that every detail plays a part, and that is absolutely the case. The frame composition was phenomenal, with almost everything becoming a clue. Nothing was in-shot by mistake; it was all very deliberate, and I must say, very effective.
Now, this is a film that gives the brain a bit of a workout. It is impossible not to sit there and try to work out what is actually going on, how David and Sara came to be trapped in this room, why they were treated in such a way, and so on. I will admit, I’m not always a huge lover of that kind of thing, but Two caused me to have the realisation that perhaps I’m just not always a fan because often the films that try it are too long. With a runtime of just 70 minutes, Two is a sprint rather than a marathon, and as such the constant mental gymnastics don;t exhaust but rather energize the viewer. I think not having to wait too long for all of the answers was magical, because it meant it didn’t have the chance to overcomplicate things, which in turn would have meant it had to do somersaults with its pay-off in order for it to feel worth it. I did mention at the start of this review that I had gone into this film with low expectations, but I think there is a lot to be said for the way that it continued to manage them throughout. It always under-promised and over-delivered, never the other way round.
The only thing I can complain about with Two is how suddenly it seemed to finish. Admittedly, given the runtime I’ve just praised it for, it may come across as a slightly confused criticism. It felt a bit like if I’d have blinked I might have missed it, it came together so quickly. In fairness, that is a very nit-picky comment to make, and if that’s the biggest issue that a film has, then you’ve not watched a bad one, but if it had taken its time a little bit more in wrapping things up, it could’ve been perfect.
Whilst I suspect it will be largely overlooked, Netflix’s Two is more than deserving of people’s attention. At first glance, it will be too weird for many, but sticking with it (ha) will see you reap all the rewards. It threatens body horror, but provides a solid little mystery, and I can’t think of anyone who doesn’t enjoy one of those.
What did you think of Netflix film Two? Comment below.
