THE RAILWAY MAN (2014) Directed by: Jonathan Teplitzky Cast: Colin Firth, Nicole Kidman, Jeremy Irvine, Sam Reid, Stellan Skarsgård, Hiroyuki Sanada, The Railway Man begins with bumbling Colin Firth, bemused Nicole Kidman and a romance on a train - the kind of witty love-at-first-sight meeting that the actors might have milked into an entire movie a decade or two ago. But theres great pain ahead, deeply buried truths, and ultimately an attempt at redemption and reconciliation. Firth and Kidman are both up for the challenge, complementing the compelling story with measured and memorable performances. Australian director Jonathan Teplitzkys mystery/drama focuses heavily on the torture and recovery themes in Eric Lomaxs 1995 autobiographical novel. It has the simplified feel of a book-made-into-a-movie at times (among other things, the filmmakers leave out Lomaxs first wife and three children), but its still a tense and moving experience. Eric (Firth) is a retired World War II veteran in the early 1980s, and he has a savant-like knowledge of English railways and military history. He meets Patti (Kidman), a former nurse who is adrift as well. They instantly have an intellectual connection, and the whirlwind affair doesnt leave time for Patti to fully understand Erics demons. As his post-traumatic breakdowns get worse, she pushes him to confront his past. As the movie creeps forward with teases from the prison camp, Firth and Jeremy Irvine (playing the younger Lomax in harrowing flashbacks) convincingly show how a gentle young soldier becomes a broken man. But while Firths performance is the most memorable, Kidmans believability as a new wife who thinks her husband is worth fighting for holds the movie together. Pacing problems in the second half, when the present-day scenes become more scarce, are much less damaging because of Kidmans ability to make the best use of every moment onscreen. Firth seamlessly plays a man at least 15 years older than himself, and Kidman has her greatest success yet looking and acting her age. The supporting cast is uniformly excellent, to the point where Teplitzky deserves credit for his work with the cast of hundreds - especially in the more densely populated prison scenes. Character actor Bryan Probets is particularly memorable in a small role as a major whose brain has been short-circuited by the prison camp. For such a torment-filled story, the ending is surprisingly satisfying, with an important message that a lesser filmmaker might have telegraphed too much. The Railway Man is a thoughtful reprieve from the louder and less subtle cinema that starts coming out this time of year.
Posted on: Sun, 11 Jan 2015 22:30:41 +0000
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