The Railway Man Review

Director: Jonathan Teplitzsky

Starring: Colin Firth, Nicole Kidman, Jeremy Irvin, Stella Skarsgard, Hiroyuki Sanada, Tanroh Ishida, 

Rating: 15

Running Time: 116 minutes


Based on the autobiography of the same name, The Railway Man tells the story of train obsessive Eric Lomax (Colin Firth) as he deals with PTSD following his experiences as a prisoner of war for the Japanese in World War II. In a turn of events, he finds himself face to face with his attacker.

From the get go, The Railway Man is a film of a specific taste, focusing on the tale of a retired Solider with a love of train who meets the love of his life while on one, but soon Patti (Nicole Kidman) realises that there is much more to her new husband.

It takes you on a range of emotion. If you go into the film without knowing the story of Lomax, you find yourself rooting for him to get the ultimate revenge. But by the end, it takes you through a journey of love, redemption and compassion.

Jonathan Teplitzsky captures it all with stunning imagery, using subtle techniques that still manage to push a scene further despite being textbook. And matched with Frank Cottrell Boyce and Andy Paterson's screenplay, it takes the film to a whole different level. One of the highlights of the film is the words -or lack of rather- that manages to tell the story a lot more by not saying anything, but rather just showing it. 

But One of the biggest highlights of the film is the role of Eric Lomax – played by both Colin Firth and Jeremy Irvine. We’re in the day and age where actors can play huge age ranges due to CGI and make up, so seeing two actors playing the same character is always refreshing to see.Irvine brings the bright eyed and hopeful Lomax to life, but as he is captured we slowly see that life has taken its toll, but still has that sparkle in his eye, which Firth keeps perfectly. It is truly remarkable how the pair have studied each other but yet bring something completely different to the table. It is a shame that The Railway Man will fall under the award season hype, because there would have been a couple of nominations in there easy.

It is the ultimate tale of revenge, but it also the ultimate tale of human compassion too. It keeps you on your seat through out and will not leave you disappointed. But on top of all that – it is a fitting tribute to those that suffered as prisoners of war, and does it upmost to make sure that we do not forget what these people suffered.   

We liked: The tense drama, Colin Firth and Jeremy Irvine. 

We didn't like: The slow build up, actually we did like that but it left us on edge! It's not good for our hearts. 

The Railway Man is Released 10th January