Movie: The Railway Man

Boy, how lucky can you get? The two most recent movies I've seen are probably the best two I've seen all year.

I saw Philomena on Sunday, and today I got to see The Railway Man.

I went to the 9.30AM screening of Railway Man (awfully early to see a movie I know) and there was still a healthy crowd. I have to say it was not what I was expecting. I thought it was about a guy on a train who runs into an old enemy, but it couldn't be any further away from that scenario.

The story concerns Eric Lomax, played by Colin Firth, and his treatment at the hands of the Japanese during the construction of the Burma Railway. It is quite brutal in a couple of places. but nowhere near as graphic as the book that the film is based on, which does not spare any detail. That's a good thing, because portraying the violence would have distracted from the core of the story, which is about Eric dealing with his demons.

This film is a joint Australian/British production, and I believe the film was made possible with some Australian tax concessions, so as an Australian taxpayer, I'm claiming part ownership of this film, and expect a cheque soon for my share of the profits....

I believe Nicole Kidman was not the first choice to play the part of Patty Lomax, but now I'm convinced she was perfect for the role. I fell in love with her for the time the movie was on. Colin Firth was excellent as the older Lomax. There was one scene near the start of the film where he awakens from a nightmare, and lets out the most harrowing scream I think I've ever heard in movie. It was chilling.

There's an actor in this movie called Sam Reid, and I was convinced I was watching the comedian Robert Webb. They are absolutely identical, and was cheering on Robert Webb for taking the chance on a dramtaic role. Alas, as I found out later, it was not him.

The only part of the movie I didn't really like was the very rushed meeting and marriage of Eric and Patty. It seemed to all happen in about 10 minutes. It probably would have been better if the movie started off with them already married, skipped the whole rushed romance thing and jumped straight into the core of the story. Other than that, the film is brilliant.