"Sometime, the hating has to stop," are the words that wrap-up the trailer of "The Railway Man." As the teaser suggests, this beautiful story of revenge, honor and forgiveness leaves the audience wondering just how so much hate can and will end. Forgiving, after all, is often easier said than done.
"The Railway Man," based on the 1995 bestselling eponymous, tells the story of Eric Lomax (Colin Firth) and his struggle with post-traumatic stress disorder following World War II. The story has continuous flashbacks to a younger Lomax's (Jeremy Irvine) time as a British Army officer, when he was tortured in a labor camp following the British surrender to the Japanese in Singapore.
When a mid-life romance with Patti (Nicole Kidman) begins to turn Lomax's life around, he suddenly finds himself struggling more than ever to come to terms with his experience. After learning the whereabouts of the man responsible for his torture, Takashi Nagase (Tanroh Ishida in the World War II storyline, Hiroyuki Sanada in the contemporary one), Lomax must choose either to get revenge on his captor or find a way to preserve his marriage and his sanity.
Fast-paced and thrillingly suspenseful, the film benefits from extraordinary editing and a tight script. Though "The Railway Man" loses some momentum toward its conclusion, it remains engrossing despite abrupt switches between the past and the present. To be sure, the dialogue isn't Shakespeare; most of the lines are simple and direct ("War leaves a mark, Mrs. Lomax"). The frankness of the film, however, effectively conveys the sense of pain and confusion of its protagonist. Nothing flabby or superfluous remains to weigh down either the script or the visual storytelling.
The film's seasoned cast must also take some credit for binding the story together. Firth, known for his Academy Award-winning performance in "The King's Speech" (2010), in which he also played a man struggling to overcome his demons, delivers a touchingly human representation of Lomax -- still at war years after his return home. Kidman, too, employs a great deal of charm in her role, serving as both the film's backbone and emotional mediator. Though such accomplished leads threaten, at times, to overshadow the supporting actors, Irvine and Sanada also shine in their minor roles. Irvine, who starred in "War Horse" (2011), is particularly memorable as an inventive young soldier and engineer with a fantastic memory for train history.
If nothing else, the film sheds light on the rarely told story of the Burma Railway. Completed in approximately one year, it is about 415 kilometers long and connects parts of Thailand and present-day Myanmar. It is also known as the Death Railway; about 90,000 Asian forced laborers and 12,399 Allied prisoners of war perished while building it. Though the film shows relatively little blood, it is nonetheless graphic. Filth and starvation are everywhere, and Lomax suffers through brutal beatings and harsh living conditions.
Haunting visual and audio effects also enhance the film's drama. Roaring music abruptly gives way to conspicuous vacuum-like silences, broken only, during one particularly painful scene, by a soldier's mournful prayer. The camera often films from below, taking young Lomax's point of view as he watches one of his captors prepare to cudgel him against the glaring light of the sun. No gory shots of wounds are necessary here to make the audience recoil in their seats.
The film does not romanticize mental illness as a result of trauma either. As Lomax crumbles, he lashes out physically and verbally at the people trying to help him, punishing them for his own unhappiness. Kidman's Patti shines as his bravely compassionate companion who maintains her composure and devotion even when she believes her marriage is ending.
Overall, the film is suspenseful and moving, balancing its sentimental message of forgiveness against harsh images of war. While imperfect and sometimes painful to watch, "The Railway Man" offers a fulfilling cinematic experience and true tale of heroism.
