Movie review: The Railway Man - war-torn

The Railway Man settles an old score

The effects of war are brutal and live with those who witness it firsthand. Civilians are often empathised with as the casualties of a choice made on their behalf. Little thought, however, is given to the men and women who are sent to the frontline to fight the war that was thrust upon them. The ones who return keep fighting even after it has ended. Frank Cottrell Boyce and Andy Paterson have adapted this real-life struggle into the movie, The Railway Man. It tells the story of Eric Lomax, a British Army officer, who was sent to a Japanese prisoner-of-war camp in 1942. His memoirs about his time in the British army and as a Japanese prisoner of war (POW) serve as the basis for the movie, which oscillates between 1940s Singapore and 1980s Britain.

When we are first introduced to Eric Lomax in 1980, he is sifting through a railway schedule at a veteran’s club, a place he frequently visits. It is the only place where the patrons understand his predicament and one of the patrons is his friend and fellow army officer, Finlay. When Lomax is indecisive about seeking a woman he met a few days ago on the train, Finlay pushes him to pursue her and soon Lomax and Patti are married. But what should have been a honeymoon turns into a nightmare for the couple as the ravages of Lomax’s wartime experience manifest themselves in his posttraumatic stress disorder.



The movie then takes us back to 1940s Singapore where Lomax and Finlay were officers in the Signal Corps. After the British Army surrendered, they are taken as Japanese POW and forced to work on the Thai-Burmese railway or ‘death railway’ as it came to be known later on. The torture at the hands of the Kempeitai, the Japanese army’s military police, when he was just 19 years old haunts him even 40 years on. He decides to confront his torturer at the behest of his friend and wife and what transpires in the light of this decision, towards the second half of the film, is the only way to deal with his pain and guilt.

The movie wavers from the book for dramatic effect in many respects, but is very watchable nonetheless. Fans of the book may want authenticity, but faithful adaptations are incongruent with the breadth and scope of a hundred-odd-minute film. Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman play Eric and Patti Lomax respectively. Stellan Skarsgard and Jeremy Irvine round the cast off as Finlay and the young Lomax. Firth and Kidman deliver cool, restrained performances that one has come to associate with the epitome of Britishness; they never misstep as actors or edge towards melodrama with material that could have easily been interpreted that way. Jeremy Irvine does great to channel a young Firth. They are not easy shoes to fill, but the reason why Colin Firth recommended the young actor himself for the project is evident in his riveting performance.

Audiences will be reminded of the 1957 film The Bridge on the River Kwai while watching the 1940s wartime scenes. This movie is steely and forgiving at the same time. It deals with the trauma of war that stays with one long after the last shot has been fired and proffers the importance of forgiveness. It is saccharine but leaves you moved. Not too many movies like these are made these days where a leisurely paced story and strong performance take precedence over chaotic editing and explosions.

Rating: 3/5 

Vivian J Xavier is a cinematographer. He tweets @vivianjxavier

Published in The Express Tribune, Sunday Magazine, September 7^th, 2014.