McQueen actually has quite a few good performances, such as Bullitt and The Great Escape, but I think this is definitely his best. He usually plays a similar type character, but this one has considerably more depth than the others. The scene where he says he can't remember who sent him the food is his best acting moment IMO.
shareI have a question about the scene where he can't remember who sent him food:
First off, it was my favorite part of the whole movie, I think his acting during this scene was one of the best moments on screen I've experienced. But was he just "pretending" to not know who sent it to him, to protect Dega? I think so because he had the piece of paper from Dega in his hand and decided last second not to confess... I believe Dega's name was on that note.
I agree with the other poster too: The scene where he discovers the boat is rubbish ... it was a real weak point in McQueen's otherwise very convincing performance.
Yeah, when I saw that scene I stopped the movie and went to check imdb to see if he got a best actor win for this movie because I ha never seen a more convincing moment of acting in my life.
shareI'm a big fan of McQueen but at times he was poor in Papillon imo.
A couple of scenes I found pretty terrible!
"You must have a really wide foot, you got both of them"
I'm not sure if it relates to McQ's performance, but I think they over did his old man make up and character a bit at the end. Evidently Henri Charriere was born in 1906, so would have been only 35 when he made his final escape on the coconut raft in 1941. He looked like he was at least 70 and on deaths door. I can understand being all feeble after 2 years in solitary, but he evidently was on good behaviour to be put on his own on the island at the end.
shareMovies love to twist the truth.
I do think that this was one of Steve McQueen's best performances - he was very believable and I was very moved by his performance.
I heard recently on TCM that Dustin Hoffman and Steve McQueen didn't get along during the filming due to it seems one trying to outstage the other.
What a shame!
it was a great performance by both mzqueen and hoffman. one of mcqueens best along with the great escape.
shareI have just finished watching it. I watched The Getaway and this back to back. I just had to come and post. Its been mentioned, but that scene when he's trying to remember who sent him the coconuts is possibly the greatest scene I have ever seen on screen. Outstanding.
"You have no respect for logic, and I have no respect for those who have no respect for logic"
Steve McQueen WAS Papillon----
shareAgreed. He deserved the Oscar for this one.
Schrodinger's cat walks into a bar and doesn't.
I agree- he's great in this flick.
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