L'Homme du train

Patrice Leconte's 2003 film starring Johnny Halliday and Jean Rochefort.

I picked this film out after enjoying 'The hairdresser's husband' and 'The girl on the bridge', by the same director. 'The man on the train' features the same style as these two previous films, and even seems to reference them at some points.

The film begins mysteriously with a rugged, silent man (Halliday) stepping off a train and arriving in a small provincial French town. The man goes to buy some aspirin at the local pharmacy, where Rochefort's character is also visiting. When the pharmacy doesn't have the aspirin, Rochefort offers to give him some back at his house. It is a chance meeting, of two wildly different characters intercutting each others lives; parallels could be drawn with Rochefort's entrance into the salon in 'The Hairdresser's Husband'. While Halliday is cool and weary, Rochefort, with his droopy features and excitable demeanour, is the exact opposite. The only things they have in common are their autumn age and their location.

Rocheforts house is old and grand; he gives Halliday a tour of his family paintings and antiques with great pride. It is obvious that Rochefort is at home here and engrained in a routine of leisurely provincial life. Leconte then tells us that Halliday is a gangster, and less impressively, Rochefort a teacher. The gap between the two seems great, but this only sets the scene for the transformation of the two characters.

Rochefort begins to learn the ways of the gangster, shooting a gun, while Halliday slowly appreciates the stately way of life, like a good pair of slippers or a book. Rochefort wants more excitement and danger in his life, while Halliday is looking for the opposite, something more eternal. Leconte shows restraint and measurement in the unfolding of the relationship. There's no sensationalism or crude sentimentality in the friendship between the two men.

The images are saturated sometimes to compliment the surroundings or situations, like a blue tint for the meetings with the gangsters. The score by Pascal Esteve is playful and adds guitar to the usual mix of strings. The film is generally confident and unshowy, smooth camera movements and lingering two shots.

Overall, I would recommend any of Leconte's work. This film didn't quite hit the heights of the previous two I mentioned. The relationship between these two weathered men is witty and well observed, yet doesn't quite have the sparkle of the romances in his earlier pieces.