The 15:17 to Paris

           
Because of its poor reception, both critically and commercially, I had avoided Clint Eastwood's The 15:17 to Paris until recently. Eastwood's modest workmanlike virtues as a director have often been underrated in the past and I feel that the film is a solid addition to his oeuvre. The flick centers on the backstories of the three American tourists who thwarted a terrorist attack on a train headed to Paris in 2015. 

The three Americans, Spencer Stone, Alex Skarlatos, and Anthony Sadler, play themselves. This no doubt hurt the commercial prospects of the 2018 film, which was released in the commercial dead zone of February, but it jibes well with the unassuming nature of the project. Throughout the film, Eastwood stresses the ordinariness of his protagonists. He does not augur their heroism. They come from humble backgrounds and bond through a series of misadventures that border on juvenile delinquency. The film stresses the petty humiliations the trio experiences as they navigate society's institutions: school, the military, and the workplace. Eastwood doesn't overly emphasize the shame his heroic trio carry with them, (Eastwood does not over emphasize anything) but the micro-aggressions stemming from interactions with institutions are palpable. Compare Spencer Stone in his Jamba Juice uniform with Judge Reinhold in a pirate costume delivering fast food in Amy Heckerling's Fast Times at Ridgemont High. Heckerling's portrayal of late adolescent male humiliation and frustration is more cartoonish than Eastwood's, but both approaches are consistent with the overall style with which the directors shape their material.

It is perhaps absurd to compare Eastwood to Robert Bresson, who often employed non-professional actors, but they both display an impassive, non-showy style. Eastwood has alternated between mythic and realistic modes. His more mythic films display a mystical bent, displaying an unremarked upon pantheism that is most obvious in Pale Rider. His film's in a realistic mode are largely celebrations of Americana and down home virtues: especially in this film, The Mule, Gran Torino, The Bridges of Madison County, A Perfect World, the damn ape pictures, and many more. Throughout, his calm authority as a director and screen presence has befitted this proponent of Transcendental Meditation.

I have to think that the critical rejection of 15:17 had something to do with its pronounced right wing slant. The flick avowedly supports God and Country, is pro-gun, and anti-Ritalin. Skarlatos eventually ran as a Republican candidate in my home state of Oregon in both the 2020 and 2022. His views proved to be too pro-MAGA for his district and he was defeated both times in the general election. The 15:17 to Paris is not a political movie, per se, but Eastwood's preference for resolute individual over institutions permeates the film. The movie is flawed, the travelogue sequences before the terrifying train ride are somewhat superfluous, but it is wholly a product of its auteur. The concluding sequences aboard the train shows that the dominant influence on Eastwood as a director of action has been Don Siegel's crisply edited style rather than Sergio Leone's operatic style. The climax of 15:17 recalls that of Siegel's The Lineup and Madigan in its tightly constructed intensity.