Review of The 15:17 to Paris (2018) by Ben B — 15 Feb 2018

This film makes an excellent point: there is no exhilarating climax when things don't go disastrously wrong. Though the dialogue feels clunky, and a big portion of the film feels like unnecessary "filler", the idea is communicated brilliantly through all that.

For most of the film I was just waiting for something terrible to happen, and when it didn't I was left uneasy - a little jumpy. I think I felt like someone might after being on that train, like something really bad just didn't happen, and I'm sure that's what Eastwood was going for.

If this was a regular fiction film I'd say there wasn't really a "good climax", and that the dialogue wasn't well-written or perfectly executed, but there was a mundane heroism to all of it, and a considered absence of the filmmaker - something that can only be achieved by a director who no longer feels the need to strive for acclaim.