Ed's Review Dot Com

Archer Street Productions, Latitude Media, Lionsgate,

Nicole Kidman, Stellan Skarsgård, Colin Firth, Hiroyuki Sanada, Jeremy Irvine, Sam Reid, Marta Dusseldorp

We meet Eric Lomax (Colin Firth) riding on a train in Great Britain. Eric lives a lonely life and is fascinated with trains and is an expert on the equipment and the schedule and loves to spend his time on the train. On this day he meets a lovely lady, Patti (Nicole Kidman) and the sparks fly. Before long they are much in love and married, although Patti learns that Eric has some deep demons that torment him during awful nightmares and is ruining his life. After some digging she finds out the story of Eric’s military service in World War II and his time spent being tortured in a Japanese POW camp. Finally they find out that the tormentor is still alive and guiding tours of the very camp where Eric was tormented. Eric decides to seek him out, but must decide what to do when he confronts the person who ruined his whole life.

This is an excellent drama based on the book written by Eric Lomax himself. This is a very dramatic film, and though most of it is quiet and quite beautiful, that only makes the vivid scenes of torture that they were forced to undergo. The stark contrast is jarring and makes a strong impression on the viewer. The situation that Eric finds himself in, once he learns his captor is still living makes him really delve into his deepest parts of his soul to figure out how to handle it. He feels compelled to visit the man, but really is not sure what to do when he gets there, and if this will make any difference in the horrible days and nights he is spending. The acting is absolutely superb. I’m amazed at what a great actress Nicole Kidman has become, and this is absolutely the best character Colin Firth has played since the good King George himself. The story is so well portrayed that I was deeply touched by this story and the way it was portrayed. Most everything in the story is true, at least from Eric’s viewpoint (since it’s his book), and though some important events are left out, the parts that are covered are very well done. [This is an excellent summary of what is true and what is missing in the story] Although I would recommend you watch the movie first before reading this page, as it gives a way a lot of the story that will ruin the movie. I highly recommend this film, and I must say it’s one of the best films I have seen in a long, long time.

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