neumu [ cinematronic ]




	Man On The Train
	Patrice Leconte Jean Rochefort, Johnny Hallyday, Jean-Francois Stevenin, Charlie Nelson, Pascal Parmentier, Isabelle Petit-Jacques, Edith Scob 2002		Set in a picturesque French town during the desolate off-season, the entangling character study "Man on a Train" from director Patrice Leconte ("Ridicule") isn't a two-man show, but it might as well be. It succeeds due to beautifully tempered performances from an odd couple — venerable character actor Jean Rochefort and rugged rock singer Johnny Hallyday (known since his '60s heyday as the Elvis Presley of France). In keeping with their divergent public personas, their roles are at cross purposes. Rochefort's Manesquier is a sedentary sort with a dry sense of humor — a reserved, retired poetry teacher living alone in his family's chateau since the death of his mother. Hallyday's Milan is a drifter and career criminal — a lean, haunted fellow who hits town by rail, finds the local hotel closed and accepts the teacher's offer of temporary lodging. Their meeting is by chance, but the transforming bond they develop, even as the drifter's true purpose in town is revealed, makes sense as it grows stronger. Balancing psychological drama with aspects of a heist film, "Man on a Train" is at its most fascinating when it allows Manesquier and Milan to consider the roads not taken.