Most French Eurocrimers don't do it for me. Melville's stuff, for instance, is a little too cold and detached (hope that's not sacrilege on this board).
But Deray's THE OUTSIDE MAN -- even though its hitman protagonist (Jean-Louis Trintignant) is every bit as reserved and taciturn as a Delon hero in a Melville film -- plays a lot warmer to me. It must be the American locations, American-style music and Hollywood supporting cast (Roy Scheider, Angie Dickinson, Ann-Margaret, Jackie Earl Haley).
I really love this movie, and its slow-paced realism (which again, would be a turn-off in the hands of Melville and Delon). The only distraction for me was Trintignant's height (man, that guy is SHORT).
Nonetheless, he makes an exciting hero as the hitman who is himself a target for assassination (a predicament which is nicely complicated by the hitman being on assignment in a foreign country, where he knows nobody).
Anyone else seen/like?
