Many great relationships have begun on trains; Jesse and Celine in Before Sunrise, Laura and Alec in Brief Encounter, and perhaps less romantically, Bruno and Guy in Strangers on a Train. It’s an environment rich in dramatic potential as strangers are forced together into a confined space. Jérôme Bonnell’s film Just A Sigh plays on this classic set-up but I fear the lovers played by Gabriel Byrne and Emmanuelle Devos will never be mentioned in the same breath as the classic pairings above.
Devos plays Alix, a struggling actress travelling to Paris for the day to audition for a part in a movie. While in the city, she plans to meet up with her boyfriend but seems nervous and unsure about how this meeting will go. While on the train, she notices a man crying in his seat. This is Doug (Gabriel Byrne), an Englishman travelling to Paris to attend a funeral. On a whim, Alix follows Doug and the pair spend the day together.
It’s a simple concept, well executed by Bonnell, whose script and direction are both nicely paced – the events takes place over the course of one day but never feel rushed. Still, at times the whole thing veers into cliche and the actions of the characters are less than believable. The film is at its best when it focuses on Alix. Bonnell’s camera clearly loves Devos and no wonder; she has a compellingly open and honest face and is very believable as a woman throwing caution to the wind as she reaches a crossroads in her life. Yet, there is something missing in the relationship between Alix and Doug, a crucial chemistry that seems to be missing. Devos plays her part with sensual vitality but Byrne is a bit of a cold fish. Sure he’s playing a character who is in mourning but Doug’s serious lack of passion leaves us wondering what Alix sees in him at all.
In the end, although Devos is extremely watchable, the romantic aspect of the film never really convinces and occasionally made this audience member cringe.
Ultimately, Just A Sigh is as forgettable as the morning commute.