Tuesday 11 October 2011

Him & Her

I don't understand this.


I think it's something to do with Merseytravel.  They've put up posters advertising it, anyway, and it's on their YouTube channel.

So he gets a train, and he fancies the girl.  And he gets the train again, and he still fancies her.  And then gets up late so he runs over the bridge and misses the girl he fancies.  And his train.  The next day he's on time, but she's not there.

Then he decides to take a bus instead.  Or something?  And then gets up earlier, and sits next to her, even though the entire bus is empty, and next thing she's resting her head on his shoulder.  While there's some French music playing.

I don't understand.  It's like watching Mulholland Drive or something.

I get the "boy fancies girl and decides to stalk her" part.  Are we meant to sympathise?  Surely she changed to a bus because of that weird bloke on the platform who kept staring at her?

Are we meant to find it romantic?  If someone came and sat next to me on an empty bus I'd assume he was a pervert and/or mental.  She seems to love it though.  It's not exactly Sleepless in Seattle*, is it?  More like the first five minutes of Saw.  I bet he ties her up in his shed and abuses her with garden implements.

I just don't understand.

Maybe the message is "if you have a season ticket, all sorts of exciting things can happen to you!".  You can have toast!  You can sit in the pissing rain with pensioners!  Though there isn't a single shot of a season ticket in the whole thing, so I might be wrong about that.

I like its extremely accurate portrayal of bus drivers as people who will ignore a man running behind banging on the glass, trying to board.  The woman is working some fierce scarves.  Cressington is a very pretty station.

It's just... odd.

I don't understand.


*I love Sleepless in Seattle, by the way.  It's one of the few films to make me cry (I am essentially dead inside).  It's the bit where Tom Hanks says "we have to go," then turns to Meg Ryan and says, "Shall we?".  She's become part of his "we".  Sob.

8 comments:

JimmyMac said...

"I like its extremely accurate portrayal of bus drivers as people who will ignore a man running behind banging on the glass, trying to board."

Only Arriva drivers, it would appear. Meanwhile, true love blossoms on Stagecoach.

Jamie said...

I felt no surprise whatsoever when the Arriva bus continued to drive on as the man pounded at the door, although I did do my shocked "Health and Safety at Work Act" face that they'd let the 'actor' come so close to being run down.

No surprise that Stagecoach should be so welcoming for heterosexual couples. If creepy-stalker-guy was stalking another guy, I'm sure company policy would be to put him off the bus. Or possibly both of them and let the victim take his chances.

Isn't it lucky the two protagonists live and work along a route served by two different bus companies that serve the same stops?

Andy Howe said...

I travel with Arriva every working day, the drivers have their moments.

I quite like the film really, Cressington is a nice station,though in regard to the Celia Johnson and Trevor Howard...... must admit, there are several fleeting glances and nothing else, and then they get on Stagecoach, and they are like full on! she looks a bit feisty as well doesn't she...mmmmm nice, I'll get me coat :-)

gottago said...

Make love with Merseytravel.

Gareth said...

Seriously, if she's taken a bus to get away from you, take the hint. Seriously, there's no way I'd dare sit next to some girl I didn't know if the bus was almost empty. I'd feel like a sex pest.

Andy Howe said...

Perhaps they were already an item, and they were having a bit of a 'difficult patch', erm, no, that's not right really...erm, I think I have another idea.....

I think they used to go out with each other, and were kind of sizing each other up, and the business with the buses in the rain at Liverpool South Parkway, was like a kind of look of recognition, and 'release', for all the tension that had built up at Cressington, that would be it, yep...or maybe not, mmmmm

I still think she is a bit feisty though :-)

Anonymous said...

I don't understand either...

It's awful! At least the Frenchified Blackpool advert last year *looked* professional.

Anyone else noticed that the train's going the wrong way, to Hunts Cross not the city centre?

Or that walking or waiting on the outside of the bus station at LPY is strictly prohibited, except seemingly for them?

They don't look like actors IMO - could they be staffers at Merseytravel HQ perhaps?
(They do have form in using staff in publicity material, after all...)

Scott Willison said...

Andy, seriously; take a cold shower ;-)

Anonymous - I also noticed that he ran from the city-bound Cressington platform over to the Hunts Cross bound one. Not sure what he was doing over there, since there's no way to get to it without passing the southbound platform...