THE RAILWAY MAN

SYNOPSIS –a haunted veteran sets out to confront his tormentor. Most films that deal with prisoners of war focus primarily on the tortures, both psychical and mental, as they take place; few films look at the long term effects of the treatment and the toll it takes on everyday lives. The railway man tells the true story of Eric Lomax and his long struggle to come to terms with his days as a POW. Much of the Railway Man’s strength lies in its performances; Colin firth gives a powerful portrayal of the older Eric Lomax, whilst Jeremy Irvine shows us the younger Eric, still possessing the youthful innocence that is about to be so brutally broken. Tanroh Ishida plays the young version of Takashi Nagase, the young officer who serves as Eric’s chief tormentor, giving the part a sinister edge as he continues to haunt Eric into the present. Hiroyuki Sanada plays the older Takashi giving a great performance as a man trying desperately to atone for the mistake of his past. The best thing about these performances is that they work so well in sync with each other; you can still see flickers of the young man in the older, haunted Eric. There are flashes of the uncertainty in the younger Takashi that will one day come close to consuming his older self. Also of note is Nicole Kidman’s performance as Eric’s wife, and Stellan Skarsgard as fellow POW Finlay. All of these performances lend the film a great emotional weight which is good because the film has something of a pacing problem. Once we really get into the story things are fine but first we get Eric and Patti’s courtship which (not to sound insensitive) goes on a little too long. Both Kidman and Firth have good on-screen chemistry and these scenes probably could have been shortened without losing any of the film’s emotional impact. The main POW story is delivered in one large segment near the middle of the film which, I personally, think might have been better suited as smaller paced out segments. FINAL VERDICT 6/10 a very powerful story that once it gets started keeps the audience gripped.