Claire Denis’ Both Sides of the Blade has two main characters. One is Jean (Vincent Lindon), an ex-rugby player trying to get his foot back into the job market after spending time in jail. The other is his lover, radio host Sara (Juliette Binoche). Calling Jean and Sara lovers is accurate, vacations and all, but they’re also on the domestic phase of their relationship. She comes home and dinner is ready, courtesy of him.

But there’s a sense of dread on Sara’s face as a ghostly presence returns to their lives. That presence is Francois (Gregoire Colin), a name she mutters to herself while no one is around. The name of her former husband who, of course, is trying to recruit Jean in his new sports agency. She’s sensing that the two lovers of her life are working together is a bad idea. It’s because she’s right.

Jean and Sara live in a fictional world with both the highest and lowest stakes in Denis’ filmography. I write high because Denis makes the decision to include COVID in this fictional version of greater Paris. And the only thing dumber than accepting a job offer from your lover’s ex is starting a business that involves meeting a bunch of people who have to travel for a living.

The ambiguity of the stakes here come with the film’s main conflict. There are viewers who are going to be indifferent towards the romantic neuroses of bourgeois people who are in their fifties. But I’ve also been around a few people like Jean and Sara. I’ve seen the dread that comes with being in one’s second major romantic relationship. And those things can be fractious and they can come with a certain baggage that Denis captures.

Jean and Sarah have to be mindful of each other’s feelings, and that’s true whether or not this was their first or second major romantic relationship. All of this leads to kitchen sink arguments, but if there are two people who can make that watchable, it’s Binoche and Lindon and Denis. Denis writes some great observational dialogue. Like when Sara tells him that she doesn’t need to look for Jean in a room where she might meet Francois.

Sara’s words still rings true whether or not she’s covering her feelings or actions. Binoche and Lindon can out-yell each other, but Lindon especially excels at small moments even in big scenes when Jean and Sara have to argue. Viewers can feel how quiet is pain is even if he vocalizes it. Even if Denis make her actors say the most basic dialogue, she still makes those words hit.

Both Sides of the Blade opens in theatres on July 8.