We each live within a reality of our own making. Willie had become used to the reality of Spain, a warm, timeless existence with little responsibility. Then reentered his old reality, with a completely different set of requirements. When he realized by the nature of his captor that he was unquestionably going to die, Willie was able to fit that fact into a workable reality so long as he knew the parameters. There would be a predictable story and it would end predictably. When that predictability vanished he could not continue to create his own death and disagreed with that decision and ran from it just as he had run from England 10 years before.
The assassin lived a different existence, one in which change and adaptation ruled. He could easily do what occurred to him at the moment, kill Myron, spare the girl's life. That freedom to act had worked out for him in the past. When it didn't work out for him he adapted to it not working and accepted the inevitable.

Because it was a poorly written naive script that was badly directed. A simply plot device to show humans are fallible, Willie was full of introspective wisdom but when it finally came to his mortality self preservation kicks in and is reduced to a base human. As they say: " There are no atheists in a foxhole".

Of course he wanted to go all the way with young Myron. Gay Paris is a place in which we can forget ourselves, reinvent, expunge the dead weight of our past. Even the pigeons are dancing, kissing, going in circles, mounting each other. Paris is the city of love, and Willie certainly was light on his feet!
We all go a little mad sometimes.

I personally think it's because he hadn't completed the full journey (to Paris) and that would have been his acceptance..OR he had a plan to escape, remember early on he did tr drive a wedge between the two assassins.
Just watched tonight after so many years!

Philosophy vs. Reality.
http://dharveyphilosophy.blogspot.com/2012/12/theory-vs-reality.html

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nec
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i liked that interview too
stamp is one of the coolest dudes ever.
(even when washing his ____ in the sink, eh keith? lol)

Basically, what TRDemings said [poster above] - a Confederate soldier is supposedly brave and unafraid of death, until the date of execution is moved up.
The Commentary to this film was very interesting. It was amusing to learn that Tim Roth was so green - he had never been in an airplane before, never been out of England, never driven a car, etc. Cute.
Terence Stamp is certainly a magnetic fellow. Loved the DVD extra of his interview with Michael Parkinson. He's a remarkably honest guy too it seems. parky asked him about this mystique he has because he "disappeared" for 10 years, walked away from a very successful film career. Stamp said it was actually because his career cooled off, hit a lull much to his surprise and upset, and that he hadn't intended to be unemployed for 10 years, it wasn't intentional!

the whole thing just ground to a halt very quick, and it was over
unsatisfying
"Cos f__k's sake, who'd wanna keep trying to shoot a nice guy like me?"
XXXX

This is discussed in the Commentary feature of the film. The director wanted to put two real life elements into the film. One being the scene where the guys in the gallery start singing "We'll Meet Again" and then the other was Stamp getting upset about his revised execution date. The Commentary said this was based on a Civil War incident where the man to be executed was very calm and cool but when his execution time was moved up a couple of hours it unnerved him and he lost his cool. So, it wasn't so much that he wanted to go to Paris, but that his day of execution changed.

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When I saw the movie a few years ago, my first thought was that he had spent 10 years (or whatever it was) preparing for his death. He was at peace with it, as long as it worked out exactly as he imagined. What made him panic at the end was the sudden change of plans.
I think the important message is that you can't beat that fear of death, even by being prepared. In the end, he's just a mammal and he's programmed to fight against his death.
The whole thing is similar to the ending in Breathless. The guy is calm at first, and rationalizes his fate. But he eventually panics (when presented with reality) and is killed.

there were clearly religious implications. stamp was dressed all in white - remember when he stood on the hill in front of the waterfall and hurt looked up to him? later, on the other hill it was like jesus on the mount of olives. stamp is wearing a blanket. jesus was prepared for death but when dawn broke he panicked. jesus was afraid of "tomorrow" too.

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Because this movie is written and directed like a middle school kid wrote a sreenplay. Don't look for symbolism, there isn't any.

Do not forget that he had the opportunity to escape, that he did all but escape, but waited for them to come get him. In this light he comes off as a by the numbers sort, one who wants things to proceed as they are ordained to proceed. Irregularities are not tolerated well.

I saw this in a much simpler vein. Willy was simply biding his time trying to get Myron to kill Braddock by suggesting the latter was unstable, etc. Perhaps Willie WAS ready to face his ex boss and die in Paris but he was also trying to patch together some sort of getaway. The moment Braddock alters the plan and says "it IS tomorrow" etc, Willie reacts the way anyone would when realizing he has just run out of time and the outcome being unexpected. Myron doesn't even get the chance to help. This fits in with Terence Stamp's own assessment from the previous poster.
Gene(points at his arm pit:Get a waft of that,man stink. See if that doesn't moisten your gusset!

Stamps character was all about faade. Yes, he had had time to prepare for the moment and yes, he was playing the part. Up to a certain point, but then when death became tangible instead of some future possibility, he showed his true colours. He was scared.
Now compare this to how John Hurts character faces his end. He is the true existentialist here, prepared to accept the consequences of his actions, not Stamp.
Smiling is for the weak.

Because this movie is just plain stupid.

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If you were to break it down like that I think you would have to say that the Australian was Denial, and Willie was Bargaining.
The Australian said he hadn't read the newspaper, that he didn't know Braddock was on a job. He denied knowing anything.
Willie is the bargainer, that is the whole reason he is wanted dead. They ask him why he turned his friends in and he said it is because he got a really good deal.
You could make the argument Maggie is anger.
I don't think the characters display only one trait, I think they all display different traits at different parts of the movie. Good comment by parze.

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how cool! you met terence stamp! and that does make sense now. thx.
Oh, and remember, next Friday is Hawaiian shirt day.