Marion Cotillard at the 52nd New York Film Festival. Photo by Yifu Chien.

Marion Cotillard takes the spotlight in this week's edition of The Close-Up, the Film Society of Lincoln Center's weekly podcast, two weeks before her latest, Two Days, One Night, opens in theaters.

The French star won an Academy Award for Best Actress in 2008 for her portrayal of Édith Piaf in La Vie en Rose. And just last week the New York Film Critics Circle named Cotillard its choice for Best Actress in 2014 for roles in both James Gray's The Immigrant and Jean-Pierre and Luc Dardenne's Two Days, One Night. She is also nominated for Best Actress by the European Film Awards.

The Immigrant had its North American premiere at the 51st New York Film Festival, and opened in theaters in May. Two Days, One Night screened at the 52nd New York Film Festival this past October. The drama is a bold ethical inquiry that pits worker against worker.

Subscribe to The Close-Up on iTunes, SoundCloud, or Stitcher.

In the film, a group of employees at a small factory are given a choice. They will each receive a bonus only if they agree to one of them being laid off. If nobody is let go, however, then nobody gets the extra cash. Cotillard plays Sandra, the chosen employee who is forced to spend a weekend driving through the suburbs and working-class neighborhoods knocking on doors of her co-workers and asking them to give up the money so she can continue to make a living.

“We had a month of rehearsals, which were really amazing,” says Cotillard in today's podcast, which was recorded during the NYFF. “It was more about the technical aspects… On day two we had 56 takes and on day four, 54. Usually you think the takes mean the director is crazy or sadomasochistic, but with the Dardenne Brothers, I knew that doing another take was for a reason. There was a very strong connection between the brothers and [me]. Even sometimes we’d do 70 takes and I would ask for more. I trust them 1,000 percent. That was one of my best experiences as an actress, they offered everything I wanted from a relationship with directors.”

Variety critic Scott Foundas, who moderated the NYFF Live discussion sponsored by HBO®, praises Cotillard as “an actress with exceptional range and skill.” During the hour-long conversation, Cotillard talks about her new movie, why she is attracted to femme fatale roles, such as her characters in Christopher Nolan's Inception and The Dark Knight Rises, as well as Lady Macbeth in an upcoming screen version of Macbeth.

Sundance Selects opens Two Days, One Night, beginning in limited release, December 24.