The 15:17 to Paris (2018)

Directed by: Clint Eastwood | 94 minutes | biography, drama | Actors: Ray Corasani, Alek Skarlatos, Anthony Sadler, Spencer Stone, Judy Greer, Jenna Fischer, Irene White, William Jennings, Bryce Gheisar, Stephen Matthew Smith, PJ Byrne, Paul-Mikél Williams, Thomas Lennon, Tony Hale, Jaleel White, Robert Pralgo, Christopher Norman

The high-speed train from Amsterdam to Paris had just crossed the border between Belgium and France on Friday afternoon, August 21, when 25-year-old Ayoub El Khazzani fired a few shots. He was armed with a Kalashnikov, a pistol and a knife. Four passengers – a Briton, two American soldiers and an American student – ​​managed to overpower El Khazzani. Five people, including the perpetrator and one of the soldiers, were injured. The train was diverted to Arras, where the gunman was handed over to the police and the injured were taken by medics to the nearest hospital (in Lille). The four passengers, who had acted so firmly, were received like heroes. President François Hollande awarded them the Légion d’Honneur, the highest award in France. US President Barack Obama was also full of praise: “It is clear that the heroic deeds of these four men have prevented a far greater tragedy.” Filmmaker Clint Eastwood, not averse to a little hero worship, had some time left after the filming of ‘Sully’ (2016) and decided to film the attack on the Thalys. Initially he was going to do it with actors (Alexander Ludwig’s name had been mentioned, among others), but in the end Eastwood decided to let the three young Americans who had actually been involved in the events play the lead roles in their own film. The victim in the worst condition, American professor Mark Moogalian, who lives in France, and his wife and Briton Chris Norman also play themselves.

In ‘The 15:17 to Paris’ (2018) we meet Spencer Stone, Alek Skarlatos and Anthony Sadler from the moment they become friends. Spencer and Skarlatos are neighbors with common interests (the military and wars) and do not really connect with the heavily Christian school. Both grow up with a single, God-fearing mother (Judy Greer and Jenna Fischer, respectively) who struggles to cope with the disapproving looks of those around them. During an afternoon detention they meet Anthony, who has a completely different background but with whom we click. The three friends grow up and pursue their dreams. The chubby Spencer as a child trains the leplazarus to make it as a ‘pararescueman’ with the US Air Force, Alek ends up in the Army National Guard and is sent for a short time on a peace mission to Afghanistan and Anthony studies (which study he strangely enough not entirely clear). The three of them decide during Alek and Spencer’s leave to go to Europe for a road trip. Via Italy and Germany they end up in Amsterdam, where after a night of wild partying they take the Thalys to Paris. And let them just get on the same train as Ayoub El Khazzani (Ray Corasani)…

Let’s assume that Clint Eastwood made his movie with the best of intentions. He felt that Stone, Skarlatos and Sadler deserve a stage for their heroic performance and he is right about that. But he does make a number of striking choices, which you would not expect from an experienced filmmaker like Eastwood. That he lets the three heroes play themselves is up to that point; although the acting talents of the gentlemen are clearly limited, you give them the benefit of the doubt. Their sometimes somewhat wooden appearance is covered with a cloak of sympathy and open-mindedness. So we want the best for them. What poses a bigger problem is the way Eastwood builds the film. The most interesting part, the actual attack, all together lasts no more than fifteen minutes in the total one and a half hour long film. The rest is a chronological account of how the three men once became friends, and how two of the three became military personnel (with a strong emphasis on Spencer Stone’s story). All in all, it’s not all that special. Where Eastwood really slips up is when he shows the men on their road trip through Europe. We see a much too long succession of tourist trips, in which Anthony’s selfie stick takes the leading role. If we want to see holiday snaps, we’ll grab a photo album. The dialogues in this segment are also too simplistic for words. And that while we are anxiously waiting for the gentlemen to finally board that train, because that is what we have been waiting for for five quarters of an hour…!

The curious choices Eastwood makes here leave their mark on the entire film. While the choice for inexperienced – but personally involved – protagonists is still justifiable, it is the unbalanced structure of ‘The 15:17 to Paris’ that kills the film. Between the acts we already get fragments of what awaits us, warm holders to keep looking. El Khazzani driving onto the platform in Brussels with his trolley full of weapons and ammunition, passengers who would like to use the toilet on board but have to wait for that strange guy who has been occupying the toilet for ten minutes. Those are the scenes we can do something with. Eastwood and first-time screenwriter Dorothy Blyskal, who based the story on Jeffrey E. Stern’s book “The 15:17 to Paris: The True Story of a Terrorist, a Train, and Three American Heroes,” should have been less concerned. the backstory of Stone, Skarlatos and Sadler and more on the day of the attack. That would definitely have resulted in a better, more exciting and more convincing film.