I watched two of his films: A Man Escaped and The Devil Probably. It seems like the “wooden” performance is his trademark. I don’t know about Pickpocket but the style works quite well in TDP while it falls flat in AME. TDP is about a nihilistic student who looks like he has major depression and the style succeeds in showing how the world is seen through his eyes. AME is about a WWII prisoner trying to… well the title says it all. I can understand that the style reflects the hopelessness of the prisioners, it’s the problem when the main character, someone who is burning with hope throughout the movie, also has the same souless expression.