Free will? (spoilers)

I've been contemplating about this film for a while. Although I am not very fond of Bresson's style of filmmaking (the unnatural neutrality in tbe human performances), I must admit that the story is told very well and very cinematically. And it stirs up quite a lot of thoughts as well.

In my perspective, the major theme in this film is the free will of man. Consider how the vow that Arnold made never to drink again. Or the pistol that Gerard gave him. Or when Marie is given money. Or when her mother tries to convince her to come home. Balthazar never had any free will, but Marie supposedly did. We may even feel more sorry for Balthazar than Marie (and to some extent also her father) in the end, since Marie made a lot of choices. Or did she? Do we really have free will, or are we in fact all like Balthazar?

One thing I did not like about this film, was the portrayal of the nihilistic and destructive Gerard. He is portrayed as being essentially bad and sinful, and as such he is more a symbolic character than a believable one. I felt the same way about "Pickpocket". Godard, Truffaut and Oshima seem to be better at portraying such characters than Bresson.

But nevertheless, I find the theme of free will fascinating, and I might watch it again in a near future and keep that theme in mind while re-watching it.