Film Review: The Railway Man

The Railway Man. Rated M (mature themes and violence). 116 minutes. Directed by Jonathan Teplitzky. Screenplay by Frank Cottrell Boyce and Andy Paterson. Based on the book by Eric Lomax.

Verdict: A superb account of an incredible true story about learning to forgive.

I discovered Eric Lomax’s autobiographical account of his experience as a prisoner of war in a bookshop many years ago. This unassuming book by one of the few who were able to recount the horror of their experiences in the wilds of tropical Asia after Singapore fell to the Japanese in 1942, has always held a very special place in my heart. If there is a definitive story about the immeasurable value of forgiveness, this is it.

When Eric Lomax (Colin Firth) meets Patti (Nicole Kidman) on a train, it is love at first sight – but almost immediately after their wedding, Eric’s nightmares threaten to destroy their life together. Patti refuses to be defeated by the invisible horrors, and tracks down her husband’s friend and comrade Finlay (Stellan Skarsgård) in an effort to find out what happened to Eric during the war. As Finlay reluctantly shares their story of being forced to construct the notorious Thailand–Burma Railway, we experience it through the eyes of the young Eric (Jeremy Irvine) and one of his Japanese tormentors Takashi Nagase (Tanroh Ishida). Years later, when Eric discovers that Nagase (Hiroyuki Sanada plays the older Nagase) is working as a railway tour guide, he returns to the scene of his torment to right the wrongs that continue to destroy whatever chance of peace he might have.

Boyce and Paterson’s considered adaptation focuses on the essential conflict in Lomax’s courageous account, and Australian-born Teplitzky (Burning Man, Better Than Sex) resists the temptation to glorify the characters – focussing, instead, on the intimate human drama of their shared circumstances. He is rewarded by outstanding performances from his cast, especially Irvine (War Horse), whose beautifully crafted performance as the young Eric informs Firth’s excellent turn as the older Lomax.

Throughout its final sequences of retribution and healing, Firth and Sanada are magnificent, but nothing prepares you for the penultimate scene in the un-used railway cutting, when the film-makers realise the everlasting value of Eric Lomax’s life story to absolute perfection.

This review was commissioned by the West Australian Newspaper Group.