The 15:17 to Paris is the latest movie offering from director and icon Clint Eastwood. If you watch a lot of Christian produced entertainment on Pure Flix (think Netflix but with a singular objective and lower production values), then this movie is just on the other side of the door because of the occasional profanity and violence, but you would probably make an exception because it is based on a true story of heroism, and there is so much patriotism. If you are a fan of Eastwood’s work behind the camera, you will probably be disappointed, but not as much as you would expect considering the real life men who stopped the 2015 Thalys train attack star in the film and are not actors. I’ve seen movies such Act of Valor in which actual Navy SEALs play Navy SEALs, and usually they are dreadful and wooden. Probably because the three men have known each other since childhood, though they are still wooden, they have a chemistry and bonhomie that survives the glare of the camera.
So how would the average viewer who probably doesn’t subscribe to Pure Flix and would not realize that they were watching an Eastwood movie even if he sat next to them in theaters and started chatting with the person who is not sitting in the adjacent empty chair like this movie? It really depends on the level of your interest in the 2015 Thalys train attack and the men who stopped it. If you know about it and are a fan of recreations, then you will have to wait until the end of the movie to watch the whole thing. Fortunately the movie’s running time is only ninety-four minutes. Sadly even if you are interested, The 15:17 to Paris is a pale imitation though more realistic than A Prayer for Owen Meany, and you should probably wait until it is available to watch it for free.
Eastwood decides to briefly show bits of the attack at the beginning and throughout the movie until the denouement, but the majority of The 15:17 to Paris primarily focuses on the life of Spencer Stone from childhood until he and his friends, Anthony Sadler and Alek Skarlatos, were awarded the Legion of Honour on August 24, 2015. Eastwood depicts them as unfairly marked as troublemakers by the school administration, whether public or private and Christian run. Most people are unwilling to see their camaraderie as necessary armor from the bullies who act with impunity or the school administrators who hate even the spirit of insubordination. While Eastwood implicitly agrees with one diagnosis, that a boy needs his father, the idea that a young boy may need medicine to cope with ADD is played straight and soundly rejected. This scene occurs fairly early in The 15:17 to Paris and involves two actors primarily known for their work in well-known comedies. Judy Greer, who is known as a person who makes grand pronouncements in a huff on Arrested Development, storms out of the room with fellow mom Jenna Fisher from The Office and announces, “My God is bigger than your statistics” to the principal. Intentionally or not, I could not help but read a little gleam in their eyes as if they could not believe what they were saying whereas when the children or men talked about God, it seemed more sincere.
The 15:17 to Paris’ tone may not have been subtle mocking of Christianity, but it definitely does not pull off playing it sincere and being a triumphant moment of faith. That scene can work otherwise there would not be nine seasons of Touched by an Angel. It was a big mistake to cast so many comedy actors even if the goal was to keep it light so the dramatic ending would have more impact. Eastwood was possibly criticizing how Christians are responding punitively to characteristics that he deems essential to making strong men, but I also think that it is also symptomatic of confusing Christ with American Christianity, which can be an unholy mix of militarism, football and Christ as Santa, which is not how I would classify this particular story.
A more textured movie would have explicitly wrestled with the idea of God being powerful and the inherent tension that Stone never stops having problems studying then question whether his problems are part of God’s plan and/or would he have been an even better hero if his mom had given her blessing if she responded to his medical problems with prescription medicine. The implication is that because he bounced around so much, studying and failing at different things, he had a variety of skills to bring to an emergency. Stone talks about something big coming in his future so a brief testimony of how it all came together seemed necessary because it is not exactly unusual for little boys to be interested in war, obsessed with guns or eventually join the military. Eastwood simultaneously wants to make a Christian movie without following the Christian movie tropes. If you are going to be heavy-handed about destiny, then don’t stop when it finally arrives. The 15:17 to Paris needed to end with a testimony from the guys, not a speech from the French president. The emotional arc was not as satisfying as it could have been.
There are other narrative problems with The 15:17 to Paris. Initially Sadler appears to be a narrator when the men first appear on screen together, but that device is dropped fairly early. For the record, no narrator is necessary. It was also an odd choice at the end of the movie not to bring all the parents on stage for the ceremony, and for Fisher and Greer to continue playing their mothers. At some point, the real life parents should have taken over. Kudos for explicitly showing us that the dog survived.
The 15:17 to Paris did make me interested enough to possibly read the autobiography that the movie is based on. The movie’s realest moment was when a train car screams louder at an unarmed Sadler’s entrance, but in contrast, even before receiving reassurances from fellow passengers, they are less alarmed when an armed Skarlatos casually waltzes in. Spoiler alert: Sadler is black. The dehumanization of the terrorist was correctly pointed out considering that we don’t see his face until late in the movie, but considering that we don’t get the perspective of the other heroes on the train, just the trio of Americans, I won’t inherently criticize the choice. Eastwood is clearly going for a pretty square American tale of heroism as part of a continuum of our legacy from World War II as a slight jab at a German tour guide. There were other American heroes that day, but they appeared to be from Europe so they are not highlighted. You can call it problematic, but it is consistent with the story that he wants to tell.
If it was not for the appeal of the three men (“I don’t even know”), The 15:17 to Paris may be unwatchable, but it is impossible not to like them so they save the movie as well as the day. Still it is one of Eastwood’s worst so don’t say that I didn’t warn you. No Oscar nomination for you!