At the January 25 premiere of Two Women at Sundance, director Chloé Robichaud stepped onto the stage of The Ray Theatre and asked a question that felt more like a thematic thesis than a medical concern: “Do I still have a voice?”
Robichaud had literally lost her voice, but as she rasped through the post-screening Q&A alongside screenwriter Catherine Léger and leads Laurence Leboeuf and Karine Gonthier-Hyndman, the irony was palpable. Her film is, at its core, about the reclamation of voice—specifically the voice of female desire, which so often remains muffled by the expectations of motherhood, partnership and the polite constraints of domesticity.
Competing in the World Cinema Dramatic Competition, Two Women is a frank, often daring exploration of pleasure in the modern age. It navigates the thin, vibrating wall between two neighbors who discover that their shared frustration isn’t just about a lack of intimacy, but about the systemic boredom that persists even in an era where women are “freer” than they were fifty years ago.
The film is a contemporary reimagining of the 1970 sex comedy Two Women in Gold (Deux femmes en or) by Claude Fournier. While the original dealt with the “groovy” housewife tropes of the seventies, Léger’s update transplants the narrative into a world of housing co-op disputes, the clinical swipe of dating apps, and the hustle of selling secondhand belongings online. The setting shift highlights a crucial point: the “trap” has changed shape, but the feeling of confinement remains.
The Evolution of the ‘Fine Girl’
Screenwriter Catherine Léger noted during the Sundance discussion that she initially expected the transition from 1970 to 2025 to be a simple leap from restriction to liberation. However, she discovered a more complex reality. Even for women who are not stay-at-home wives without careers, there remains a pervasive, unspoken pressure to be the “good girl”—to follow domestic rules and suppress personal longing for the sake of stability.
This tension drives the relationship between the film’s protagonists: Violette (Leboeuf), a new mother spending her days in the isolation of early parenthood, and Florence (Gonthier-Hyndman), her neighbor. The plot is set in motion by a sonic misunderstanding. Violette believes she hears a crow trapped in the walls of their apartments; when Florence dismisses the idea, Violette assumes the sounds are actually the echoes of Florence’s active sex life.
The revelation that follows is the catalyst for the film’s deeper dive into dissatisfaction. Florence reveals that she and her partner, David (Mani Soleymanlou), have been sexless for years. This admission bridges the gap between the two women, turning a shared wall into a portal for mutual liberation. As Florence attempts to reclaim her libido—starting with a calculated seduction of a repairman—the two women begin a collaborative effort to prioritize their own pleasure without alerting their nosy co-op neighbors.
Directing the Female Gaze
For Robichaud, the project was an opportunity to pivot the cinematic lens. In a medium that has historically fetishized the female body for the male viewer, Robichaud intentionally centered the sensations of the women. This included a conscious decision to film men’s bodies from a perspective of desire and to integrate nudity into the mundane, unglamorous realities of womanhood.
The director specifically pointed to the inclusion of scenes like breast-pumping as a way to ground the film’s eroticism in the actual, physical experience of being a woman. By treating nudity as a day-to-day occurrence rather than a spectacle, Two Women strips away the performative nature of sex and replaces it with something more honest: the pursuit of feeling good.
This honesty extended to the chemistry between the leads. Gonthier-Hyndman and Leboeuf spoke of the rapid bond they formed on set, necessitated by the film’s intimate requirements. In a moment of candidness during the Q&A, Gonthier-Hyndman mentioned the use of a pubic wig during filming—a detail that brought a wave of laughter to the room but underscored the meticulous, sometimes absurd, work that goes into depicting authentic intimacy on screen.
The Paradox of Modern Monogamy
While the film celebrates the awakening of its protagonists, it does not ignore the ethical gray areas of infidelity. Through Florence’s introduction of feminist theory to Violette, the film posits that traditional monogamy can often function as a patriarchal scheme designed to limit female agency. However, the narrative adds a layer of irony that complicates this liberation.
While Violette is questioning the boundaries of her marriage, she is unaware that her husband, who travels frequently for work, is engaging in his own extracurricular affair with a younger colleague (played by Juliette Gariépy). This plot point transforms the film from a simple comedy of manners into a study of isolation. It suggests that the characters are not just fighting against a system, but are four individuals struggling to understand their desires in total solitude, even while lying in the same bed.
The film’s resolution avoids easy answers, instead focusing on the converging plotlines of these four people as they reach a collective narrative climax. It asks whether pleasure is something that can be found within a partnership, or if it must first be claimed individually before it can be shared.
| Feature | Original (1970) | Modern Adaptation (2025) |
|---|---|---|
| Source Material | Two Women in Gold (Fournier) | Two Women (Robichaud/Léger) |
| Core Conflict | Housewife boredom | Modern domestic/co-op frustration |
| Technological Context | Analog/Traditional | Dating apps/Digital marketplaces |
| Thematic Focus | Sexual liberation | Female gaze and bodily autonomy |
As Two Women moves beyond its Sundance premiere, it stands as a testament to the enduring relevance of the “boredom” Léger identified—a boredom that isn’t about a lack of things to do, but a lack of being seen and desired on one’s own terms.
The film is currently navigating the festival circuit following its World Cinema Dramatic Competition debut. Official distribution details and a wider release date are expected to be announced following further screenings and potential acquisition deals.
Do you think modern monogamy needs a redesign, or is the pursuit of individual pleasure compatible with partnership? Share your thoughts in the comments below.
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