Review of The Railway Man (2013) by Luke C — 29 Dec 2013

Going into The Railway Man, I expected a mediocre Oscar-bait biopic however, I was more than delighted to be wrong. While it has many of the run of the mill true story drama conventions, it is superior to most of them and feels very subversive to such a dry and boring sub-genre.

The Railway Man follows two timelines, one of an English group of POWs trying to survive in Japan during World War 2, and another set decades later following the psychological fallout from the trauma the soldiers endured.

To me, this story is much stronger than typical true stories and it worked really well. It fits in themes of forgiveness and overcoming tragedy really well. It delivers a very strong performance from its lead Colin Firth (which is great to see after the dreadful Gambit) and equally great performances from Hiroyuki Sanada and Jeremy Irvine. The film's greatest strength probably lies is the brilliant performances on offer, however Nicole Kidman slightly missed the mark. After War Horse left a bad taste in my mouth, I have steered clear of cheesy Oscar-bait films and of Jeremy Irvine, however this movie gives me hope that both of those things are not always bad.

The run time of these kinds of films tend to be too long and they drag on a lot, however; The Railway Man fits quite well with its 115 minute run time. I didn't have much of a problem with its length, nor its pacing; bar having a couple of time checks throughout. It is also shot very well with sets that really help to capture the intended environment and time setting, particularly the great dreary 80's English seaside environment.

In regards to the intended target audience, this film predominantly aims for elderly people as they will understand the jargon and context of the film better than any other demographic. As a teenager in a screening surrounded by elderly people, I could tell the film was hitting its mark well as they understand and laughed at things I didn't; but thankfully this ignorance didn't hinder my viewing experience.

Overall, The Railway Man more than succeeds on what it is trying to accomplish and is definitely compelling viewing. It is great for mature audiences and feels like a standout in a boring and tired sub-genre. However, if you truly dislike biopic/true story films then this will probably not be for you and the same goes for people strongly uninterested in the second World War.