The biggest flop of 2014? Possibly. Jonathan Teplitzky’s (Burning Man, television’s Broadchurch) grossed under $5 million in the theaters but cost $18 million to make. This movie should have been great. But then again, so should have been Unbroken, the underwhelming Angelina Jolie vehicle that showcased the 47-day survival of two men living on a raft after their plane was shot down during World War II, only to be held in a prisoner of war camp. This movie did just fine at the box office (doubling its budget costs), but it still did not come close to expectations. The Railway Man had fewer expectations than Unbroken, but it did have a better cast and weaker competition at the time of its release. A 66% on Rotten Tomatoes isn’t bad, but usually, you want to see a slightly higher (at minimum) rating for a true story-based historical drama. I am uncertain of why I watched this film. I had convinced myself I was not going to. However, it appeared on my Showtime OnDemand list one day when I was searching for a movie to watch and decided to give it a try. I’m glad I did. It is certainly not a great movie, but it is better than expected. It is a much more complete film than Unbroken.

Fresh off Academy Award nominations in back-to-back wins (including a win for 2010’s The King’s Speech), Colin Firth (A Single Man, Devil’s Knot) had the pick of the litter when it came to his next handful of movies. But much like Jamie Foxx (who had an Academy Award win in 2005 for Ray and an Academy Award nomination for Collateral), Firth has made some poor choices when it comes to selecting his roles. Let’s take 2011’s Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy out of the equation since it likely completed filming well after Firth had picked up his Oscar for The King’s Speech. I hadn’t even heard of such gems as Arthur Newman, Main Street, Before I Go to Sleep, or Magic in the Moonlight. Devil’s Knot was a complete disaster, and while there was an audience for Kingsman: The Secret Service, I’m not sure if it was aided by having Firth in the film. And when people look back on the period from 2011 to 2014, they will wonder what Firth had been doing.

With all of that said, The Railway Man was an excellent choice for him. He was very, very good in the role of a former tortured prisoner of war who tries his best to battle the demons in his head and move forward with his life. Forty years later, and former POW Eric Lomax (Firth) has had trouble moving on in his life. He has remained friends with Finlay (Stellan Skarsgård), who served in Thailand during World War II. The two hang out together at the local Veterans’ Club.

Though we do not know all that has happened in the last 40 years, we know that it has not been pleasant for Eric. However, after all of these years, his life is about to change for better and for worse. This is where the conflict in our story originates. Eric meets Patti (Nicole Kidman – The Hours, The Others) on a chance circumstance while the two are riding a train in Scotland. They get along famously, and it is evident that Eric has quickly and decisively fallen in love. Before we know it, they are dating. And while we do not know at this time how Eric’s life was before meeting Patti, we can infer that meeting Patti is perhaps the most significant thing that has ever happened to him. As time passes, Eric spends more time with Patti and less time at the Veterans’ Club. Eric starts telling Patti about the war. I’m not entirely sure why Patti seems so flabbergasted about some of the things he tells her. It’s almost as if it’s a teacher explaining something to a classroom of young children for the first time. But I won’t over-analyze this part of it. The idea was to demonstrate that, even after 40 years, the images of war remain fresh in his mind.

The Railway Man is based on Jonathan Teplitzky’s true story of a British Army officer in World War II and the Japanese Imperial Army officer who tortured him. It is successful because of its multi-dimensional level of storytelling. We are presented with a back-and-forth story of Lomax (Firth and Jeremy Irvine, known for War Horse and Great Expectations as the younger version) and his torturer, Nagase (Hiroyuki Sanada, known for Mr. Holmes, The Wolverine, and Tanroh Ishida, known for 47 Ronin, as the younger version). After Eric and Patti are wed, he begins experiencing flashbacks to 1942, when he becomes a prisoner of war after his British forces are forced to surrender to the Japanese in Thailand. Eric, an engineer, brings something with him to the camp, which gets him into a heap of trouble with his captors. Led by Nagase, Eric is constantly tortured, often with water being forced down his throat with a hose. While these painful flashbacks have occurred before, they are unknown to both Patti and the audience.

The back and forth between the present time and the flashbacks transitions perfectly. First, in the present day, Eric learns that Nagase has been discovered. Then, finally, Eric has the opportunity to come face-to-face with his torturer, something that he has probably been dreaming of for the last 40 years. But he’s torn now that he’s with Patti. And he wears the emotions on his face. Part of him wants to repay Nagase for everything he’s done for him… for basically showing him how ugly the world can be. But now he has Patti, and she has shown him how beautiful the world can be. So, Eric is forced to deeply examine his moral compass and determine whether he can forgive and forget or if the traumatic events he experienced are too overwhelming to overcome.

Though the beginning of the movie is by no means boring, it is slow. I began wondering if I would fade away if it continued at the same pace. However, it did pick up, and it was a credit to Teplitzky, Firth, and Kidman that they were able to hold the viewer’s interest. The Railway Man is a better movie than I think people give it credit for. So if you’re deciding between this one and Unbroken, this one is the way to go.

Plot 8/10
Character Development 8/10
Character Chemistry 7/10
Acting 8/10
Screenplay 8.5/10
Directing 8/10
Cinematography 8.5/10
Sound 8.5/10
Hook and Reel 8/10
Universal Relevance 8/10
81.5%

C+

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