Huit heures de sursis

Odd Man Out is unusual from so many angles, that Carol Reed seems to have invented the point of view, the atmosphere and the characterizations.

The camera angles are particularly interesting. Shot at ground level, looking up. Shot from above looking down. Shadows dance around corners. Perspective is distorted.

Certainly this was James Mason's best role and he shines as the man not used to daylight, (from rotting in prison for many years), who must lead a daring daylight raid that fails, because the sun gets in his eyes at the critical moment.

The rest of the film is built on what happens to Mason next. He meets many characters who use him for their own ends. He becomes a metaphor. The helpless victim in an almost Kafka-esk world.

Newton is, as always, visually arresting. His mastery over the spoken language is stunning here as he cajoles Mason to sit for his portrait.

The end of this film is classic and shocking and should never be revealed. It must be seen with no fore-knowledge for the best effect.

No longer available for purchase, your best bet to see this extraordinary film is to find a Video rental outlet that specializes in British film. Well worth the effort. A MUST SEE for James Mason/Robert Newton fans and for people who love original film work.

Escaped from jail and sick of the violence, Johnny still is the head of the IRA and arranges a robbery on the mill. When he gets into a fight on the escape, Johnny is shot and kills a man. Half in and half out of the getaway car, Johnny falls out into the street and gets away before his comrades can collect him. Lost in the streets of Belfast, Johnny lurches from one safe-house to another while both friend and foe try to find him before the other.

While this film does feature an `organisation' that bares more than a passing resemblance to the IRA of the time and it is set in a town in Northern Ireland (unnamed in the film, but Belfast in reality) but this is not a film that is about the troubles per se; in fact it is surprising in just how non-partisan it manages to be throughout. The film goes the usual route of having the main IRA-character being either `too crazy for the IRA' or `too good for the IRA', the latter being the case here; however despite this it isn't anti-British or pro-IRA, in fact it is more about the characters and the dark landscape than about the politics.

Reed uses the same skills as he later would bring to the classic The Third Man - the dazzlingly dark streets, the imaginative shots and the photography. The actual plot is a little thin if you read the summary, however what it does do well is tell a tale of a man adrift among roughs and friends until true love is his release and redemption. For this reason, Mason actually doesn't have that much acting to do. He is quite understated in comparison to the lively and colourful support characters. His accent is way off for Northern Ireland; he tries a Southern accent but still his distinctive voice shines through. He gives a good performance but is surprisingly in the background for a leading man.

The support cast is better and is where the story really happens - in the hearts of the `normal' man. They have much better accents and characters and mannerisms that will be familiar for those who of us who are from Northern Ireland! The characters range from the good hearted to the greedy to the apathetic. The film never judges any of them but lets them be played out in their own way, it works well for this reason. The downside is that the support cast is almost more important than the banner star; the upside is that the film is never dull and is colourful throughout. The narrative takes a dramatic (if slightly melodramatic) turn at the end, but still produces a strong climax to the film, but it is the support cast and Johnny adventures through the dark streets of Belfast that makes the film move.

However to say that is the only driver is to do a disservice to the direction and photography. While the film doesn't really capture the spirit of Belfast, it does portray it as the prison that Johnny would view it as, and it does it with a great deal of style and imagination. Some scenes show great imagination - witness the faces in the beer bubbles or the pictures haunting Johnny in the art gallery.

Overall this is a great film, although narrative tends to take second place to the feel of the film, the style and the colourful character. Not near the class of Third Man but certainly a stylish and enjoyable film for those who enjoyed it's bigger brothers.

Odd Man Out is an almost flawless movie that is such a tribute to great acting, writing, and storytelling. In a time when there are so many blow em' up action movies with actors showing the talent levels of my radio this movie can show you that there can indeed be great films that don't involve huge explosions, and that much gunplay, and also this movie proves that so much of a story can develop within a five mile radius, if not that big, and show you just how intense human drama can be. James Mason, in one of his best performances ever plays Johnny McQueen, an IRA member who is hunted by the law. After he is shot his friends seek help, having to leave him alone, in order to find someone that will help him. He must run after the cops almost find him. What ensues is a movie that is not pro-IRA or pro-Britain but an incredible character-driven movie in a movie you would not expect to find one. The movie takes place all over the city, as Johnny McQueen and all of those associated with him have an incredible adventure, not to mention his love interest. The acting is beyond phenomenal, these actors give these characters a great amount of depth, and they seem to realize the backdrop of the conflict at hand, and play the scenario perfectly.

This time does not exist anymore, the conflict of which this movie takes place in might, but fifty years later attitudes, traditions, and conventions of the day have changed a lot. This movie is almost an incredible time capsule, capturing the feeling of the time, and the conflict of the time without telling any names, you know the organization that the movie is talking about but no name is mentioned, and a name really doesn't need to be mentioned. This movie is all around phenomenal, in the message it conveys, and the way it conveys it. Odd Man Out uses this conflict to portray an idea of peace, an idea to stop killing, and to stop violence. In this film the movie lends the conflict to senselessness, by the end of the film the goals of both sides seem like a moot point, and that all that happened as a result of the conflict was a lot of violence, murder, turmoil, and nothing achieved. I cannot say enough that the one key to the success of the film is the acting. James Mason is in top form as the gunman that wonders around the unnamed town, the supporting cast is nothing short of spectacular, the acting makes this movie.

By some critics this was called the best British movie in the Post World War 2 era, for a number of years. In the immediate years following the war that is hard to debate, odd man out is quite a spectacle, a phenomenal film without question. The movie is so many things: a great character study, a brilliant film exploring man's own problems with it's own kind, a sad movie, a love story, and a movie that exemplifies the way movies should be made, obviously I give this movie a glowing endorsement. Many people say that movies in this time had shallow characters, that were unoriginal, and unrealistic. This movie shows just the opposite, and if you were to watch most mainstream movies today you would find that accusation true of most modern movies, but this movie shows just how strange, and sometimes remarkable we are, and shows very mush, in it's own way how different we are, and I love movies like this where the characters are what make the movie, the plot is important too, but it is the unique and unexpected characters that make this movie so much more than a standard movie, this movie is a classic. This is a movie that is almost mesmerizing, engrossing to the point you almost forget where you are, few movies achieve that, this is definitely an achievement for British cinema, and an achievement for cinema overall.

Odd Man Out takes place in a period bad for the cause that the Irish Republican Army is espousing. It's after the end of the civil war in Ireland which in many ways was far bloodier and nastier than the original war for independence following the formation of the Dail by the members of Sinn Fein who withdrew from the British Parliament.

The Republican forces signed a truce out of sheer exhaustion, peace was necessary or there would have been no country left. Later on for goals like getting those six counties into the fold. Remnants of the IRA carried on, but with less and less public support. Remnants like the one James Mason is a commander of.

He's escaped from prison and the scars internal and external still show. His group is planning a robbery of linen mill payroll for money for the 'cause.' Unfortunately Mason kills a man, and is wounded himself and left behind by his fleeing comrades.

There's a big price on his head before for being a fugitive and now with murder added to it, the authorities will shoot first. The rest of the film is Mason's desperate struggle to stay alive and reach help and finding it not available.

James Mason said that Odd Man Out was his favorite film role and he credited Carol Reed's direction in giving him a career role. Best in the supporting cast is Robert Newton as the mad artist looking to paint him in the throes of death. The part calls for the kind of scenery chewing Newton was famous for and Carol Reed gives him just enough encouragement to get it right.

Odd Man Out led to James Mason's American screen contract with MGM after one more British production. It holds up very well today as a film about a man fighting for a cause that was losing enthusiasm among its believers, Mason included.

"Odd Man Out" is far more than just a very good "cops and robbers" movie, although it can hold its own with most. Beneath that is a deep psychological drama as Johnny McQueen, an IRA rebel, wounded in a holdup, is pursued by police, his own gang, and several unsavory characters. McQueen becomes less of a man and more symbol to his hunters. He is viewed as a martyr, meal ticket, and art project. Robert Newton is excellent in his role as a half-mad artist who wants to hold Johnny just long enough to paint the expression in the eyes of a dying man. Intensely suspenseful, set in the working-class neighborhoods and slums, the gray atmosphere compliments the plot perfectly. One of James Mason's finest.