The 15:17 to Paris
Directed by Clint Eastwood
- drama
- thriller
The story
On Aug. 21, 2015, the world watches in stunned silence as the media reports a thwarted terrorist attack on a train that's bound for Paris -- an attempt prevented by three young Americans traveling together through Europe. The heroic and courageous actions of Anthony Sadler, Alek Skarlatos and Spencer Stone help to save the lives of more than 500 passengers on board.
What it’s like
Warm, sun-washed travelogue light gives way to a sudden spike of cold, close-quarters tension in this true-story drama. Its first hour is loose and episodic, with long, unhurried scenes of friends wandering through Amsterdam, Rome and Venice in bright daylight, sunlit piazzas and ordinary hotel rooms, and an easygoing, mildly sentimental score under them. The rhythm tightens sharply once the train sequence begins: the camera stays near the characters in cramped carriage interiors, fluorescent and dim, and the violence is brief but startling, a few gunshots, a stabbing and a wound, rendered without gore. The emotional register is earnest and admiring rather than dark, with a steady current of friendship, duty and gratitude. The shape of the story is three ordinary young men finding courage they didn't know they had. It suits a Sunday afternoon with someone who wants an uplifting, real-life hero story, though anyone wanting something fully gentle should know the attack scene is tense and jolting.
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