Review of The Railway Man (2013) by Anonymous User — 12 May 2014

A well made, "early year" dramatic film with two strong lead performances out of its stars Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman. As "early year" dramas tend to be leftover Oscar hopefuls that stood no chance of nominations after early screenings, this one is better than its release date would indicate.

Firth (The King's Speech) stars as Eric Lomax, a British officer and train enthusiast who was tortured quite extensively as a prisoner of war in a Japanese labor camp in SE Asia during WWII many years ago (his youthful years are played by War Horse's Jeremy Irvine).

Kidman (Birth) plays his wife who married him in the early 1980s completely unaware of his horrific past and present torments but whose love and dedication to her husband seeks out a way to find him some solace.

The first half of the film is their relationship and it features heavily on his loving wife while the second half of the feature is nearly all Firth's (with bits of flashback). Based on a remarkable true story, The Railway Man, is most notable because of its actual roots.

The story we see unfold is rather amazing even if some of the techniques presenting the story aren't as amazing. Much of this is standard drama (with good acting) but the end does give us a bit more as it is ultimately a redeeming story of love.