Well, "The Man on the Train" takes a long time getting where it wants to go and is very French in its sense of humor and dialogue, but as they say, all's well that ends well. In this case, it's a great ending. I had turned off this movie around an hour in, bored by the dialogue and lack of plot advancement, right around when Luigi arrives in town.
DO NOT DO THIS! I decided to give it a last chance. From there, the film gets more interesting, and the ending sequence, virtually wordless as we go between each man's "operation," is suspenseful. The interesting thing about "Man" is that it's not about trading places: it's about two people who wade in the waters of each others' lives but never quite dive in. That could have been unfulfilling, but it turns into an engaging narrative on the "what ifs" we all ask ourselves instead of becoming an overly contrived caper.
Rochefort powerfully conveys his frustration and anger, while Hallyday becomes more sympathetic as the film goes on. The ending shots of him sitting in the house by the piano are totally understandable: Milan sees Manesquier's life as leisure, while Rochefort sees in Milan's a life of adventure. Both of them have that "grass is always greener" problem, and both of their lives unfortunately, as unchanged, lead to dead ends. I suppose you have to be the risktaker for a while in order to enjoy the leisure, and maybe you have to have been stuck in a dull life to enjoy the risks. It seems as if neither has ever known the other side and so ends life with regret about what could have been. Let it be a lesson to us all!
DO NOT DO THIS! I decided to give it a last chance. From there, the film gets more interesting, and the ending sequence, virtually wordless as we go between each man's "operation," is suspenseful. The interesting thing about "Man" is that it's not about trading places: it's about two people who wade in the waters of each others' lives but never quite dive in. That could have been unfulfilling, but it turns into an engaging narrative on the "what ifs" we all ask ourselves instead of becoming an overly contrived caper.
Rochefort powerfully conveys his frustration and anger, while Hallyday becomes more sympathetic as the film goes on. The ending shots of him sitting in the house by the piano are totally understandable: Milan sees Manesquier's life as leisure, while Rochefort sees in Milan's a life of adventure. Both of them have that "grass is always greener" problem, and both of their lives unfortunately, as unchanged, lead to dead ends. I suppose you have to be the risktaker for a while in order to enjoy the leisure, and maybe you have to have been stuck in a dull life to enjoy the risks. It seems as if neither has ever known the other side and so ends life with regret about what could have been. Let it be a lesson to us all!