The Railway Man

Parental Rating: R

Contains: Violence    Adult Content    

Jill's Review

Opens April 18, 2014

Runs 116 minutes

The true story of Eric Lomax (Colin Firth), a British Army officer in World War II and the Japanese Imperial Army officer who tortured him.  After the war, while still haunted by his experiences, Lomax feels he has made a life for himself. He still meets with his fellow Army Officers and he is a train enthusiast (really obsessed with trains). On one of his train excursions he meets a beautiful nurse named Patti (Nicole Kidman).  She coaxes him out of his shell and he introduces her to his army buddies.  After the wedding though, he is faced with severe bouts of PTSD. Patti reaches out to him but he does not want to talk about it.  So Patti searches out Finlay (Stellan Skarsgard), one of his fellow soldiers to try to figure out how to help him. He tells her about the torture inflicted on him by Nagase Takashi (Hiroyuki Sanada) while he and his fellow soldiers are forced to work on the Burma-Thailand Railway. Soon, Finlay learns that Takashi is still alive working at a war museum, the very prison camp where Lomax was held. Once Lomax is presented with the evidence that Takashi is still alive, he must decide for himself if he will face his demons and come back to the woman he loves.

This is a very thought-provoking movie.  It moves very slowly and is told in flashbacks. Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman are both excellent.  The movie covers some very tough subject matter like PTSD and torture. However, it should leave you deeply moved.  Worth seeing.

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