Jonathan Teplitzky (director)
Lionsgate (studio)
15 (certificate)
116 (length)
05 May 2014 (released)
04 May 2014
It is over fifty years since the end of World war two and it is still managing to inspire films that are both shocking and inspiring. 2014 has already seen a few, Monuments men, the fantastic Book Thief and this, The Railway Man
Colin Firth leads a stellar cast that includes Nicole Kidman.
It is the true story of Richard Lomax, an engineer with the British army who is captured during the Singapore surrender. Imprisoned in a Japanese labour camp, he survives extreme conditions and torture by the dreaded Kempetai, (similar to the Nazi Gestapo) only to be plagued by his experiences for decades after he arrives home.
His one solace is his love of railways. That is until he meets his future wife Peggy, played by Nicole Kidman, who is determined to help him battle with his demons. Many years later Richard is able to confront one of captors and chief torturers’ who is still alive and giving talks on the history of the Thai-Burma railway. What follows is a brutal and often touching exploration of the human condition seen by two people who have it witnessed it at its worst.
Colin Firth is an actor that never seems to deliver a bad performance and in this movie he is ably matched by the rest of the cast. Jeremy Irvine who plays the younger Richard Lomax looks like Colin Firth when he was in films in the early eighties such as Another Country and gives a remarkable performance.
Nicole Kidman is as good as ever and so are the rest of the cast. Hiroyuki Sanada who plays the older version of Firth’s torturer brings humility to his character that takes the breath away. The Railway Man is one of those films that make you want to force people to watch it to show them how good it is but then what does that make you? Instead, enjoy this film and highly recommend it to friends and family alike.
Out on dvd, blue ray and download from May 5th.
