Film Review: 'The Railway Man'

So, I've decided that I'm going to start posting about films and books after I read them. I use the word 'review' with hesitation because I doubt I'll stick to a formal review layout, but I'd like to comment on the books and films I read/watch from now on :)

I'm starting off with the new film-version of  'The Railway Man', directed by Jonathan Teplitzky, which I saw at my local Town Hall cinema last night.

To briefly summarise without spoiling it for anyone who hasn't yet seen it, 'The Railway Man' is the story of a train-fanatic and soldier named Eric Lomax, who was a victim of extreme abuse and torture from the Japanese who captured him during World War 2 and forced him and thousands of others to work on the Burma railway. Years later he is married, but can not be truly happy because of the emotional torment and nightmares that his horrific past left him with. Lomax discovers that his captor is still alive and is left with a crucial decision: revenge or forgiveness?

I found the film to be incredibly moving but hard-hitting and difficult to watch at times, so I don't recommend watching it if you are wanting a light-hearted or funny film.

Colin Firth portrayed the older Eric Lomax extremely well, while Nicole Kidman also performed exceptionally as his wife, Patti. But, for me, the best performance was from Jeremy Irvine, who played Lomax throughout his war days. I didn't realise until later that Irvine also starred in the film 'War Horse' (2011) and I think he gives a believable and emotional quality to both roles.

Eric Lomax (1919-2012)

I was also very impressed by the similarity between Firth and Irvine. They not only have resemblances in appearance, but also convinced me that they were the same person through their facial expressions, body language and performance. This definitely helped in bringing the tragic story to life and allowing viewers to connect with the film, unlike many films where difficulty to believe that two actors could possibly be portraying the same character distracts you from enjoying the film.

Both Irvine and Firth also look a little like the actual man Eric Lomax, upon who's autobiography the film is based. Lomax wrote his real life story 'The Railway Man', which was published in 1995, before passing away in 2012.

My only criticism of the film would be that the beginning was not particularly clear. I have not yet read the book, and so I don't know exactly how the events happened. However, it took me while to get into the film an decide that I was enjoying it because the beginning  was quite hurried and difficult to follow. For example, we do not know the names of either Eric or Patti until a good way through the film and the two seem to be married very suddenly! In addition, I found that there wasn't a particularly clear link between actors who were supposed to be playing the younger an older versions of the same character (with the exception of Irvine and Firth) and this was a bit confusing too.

Overall, I really enjoyed the film. Young as I am, I knew almost nothing of the experiences of soldiers on the Burma railways and so the film was not only fantastic in an almost fictional sense, but also fascinating in its historical value and truth.