The fact that she had been married is barely hinted at (she describes herself as single again). Somehow, despite a failed marriage, she has the cash to tour Britain. But his failed post-war marriage and two children are unmentioned in the movie. (One of my teachers around 1969 had been a Prisoner of War at Changi Prison in Singapore, but you would never have heard it from him.) Presumably many of these gentle heroes were married, as was Eric. His tormented friend at the veterans club notes how the survivors of the 1940s horrors are now bank clerks, teachers, engineers, retired people honest productive citizens, whose unsung post war endurance is as admirable as their war time survival. This fine car and his neglected house are the only signs that he had a successful and productive working life between 19. The equivalent British middle classes now drive BMWs, Mercedes and Audis). The Triumph marque disappeared long ago along with much of the British car industry. Eric is shown to drive a Triumph 2000, a car typically owned by the affluent middle classes of that time. But such practical matter of fact detail inevitably invites down to earth speculation such as "Where does the characters' money come from?" This tiresome little problem hardly matters in more fantastical Hollywood sagas where everyone is filthy rich or in possession of superpowers. The very down to earth portrayal of Eric's lonely life is immensely touching, as in the scene where his new love Patti wants to scrub clean the cooking pot in his grubby bachelor kitchen. Perhaps it shouldn't matter, given the power of his performance, but it gets in the way if you try to make sense of the time lapses. Good as he is, Colin Firth is visibly too young. The title character, Eric, was 61 at the time of the scenes set in 1980. Yet the film has several irritating shortcomings. I toured it in 2007 it is now a museum peopled by realistic waxworks of the soldiers, senior and junior, who were there on surrender day, 15th February 1942. I was particularly fascinated to see Eric and the other signals staff emerging into the sunlight from the underground "Battle Box" headquarters in Fort Canning Park, Singapore. I normally never consciously notice the sound design, but here it contributes intelligently and gently to several episodes. The direction and all the technical contributions are admirable. Its low key approach makes the torture scenes and the depictions of Eric Lomax's searing post-war nightmares all the more horrifying and unforgettable. "The Railway Man" is a sober restrained film for much of its running time.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |