The Railway Man 2013

Wesley Morris, Grantland: The filmmakers don't have the nerve for a serious consideration of trauma, vengeance, and forgiveness. Read more

Kyle Smith, New York Post: Colin Firth plays a choo-choo lover and ex-World War II prisoner of war who finds his two great obsessions neatly joining in the trite, hokey message movie "The Railway Man." Read more

Rex Reed, New York Observer: It's an inspiring and unforgettable story about cruelty, endurance, courage and making peace with the past. Read more

Joe Morgenstern, Wall Street Journal: The ghastly realities of the labor camp are undercut by self-consciously stylized storytelling in the British sequences, with their glib formulations of love leading to personal peace and allowing forgiveness. Read more

Moira MacDonald, Seattle Times: The truth of what happened to him is devastating; the truth of how he found forgiveness in his soul is astonishing. Read more

Peter Debruge, Variety: Lomax found heroism in compassion, and that attitude is what audiences are bound to connect with so deeply here, even if such an outcome proves almost anti-dramatic onscreen. Read more

A.A. Dowd, AV Club: Along the way, The Railway Man accumulates some power and insight, but it's also hard to shake the feeling that a complicated first-person account has been given the Weinstein treatment. Read more

Randy Cordova, Arizona Republic: A consistently fine actor, Firth does marvelous work here, as Lomax must balance the demons of his past with the specter of forgiveness. Read more

Jocelyn Noveck, Associated Press: Somehow, even if you already know the story, the climax feels, if not unexpected, at least fresh, when it could have easily been schmaltzy. Read more

Ty Burr, Boston Globe: Throughout, Firth compellingly plays a man struggling to make sense of the ordeal that his life has become. Too often, though, you can feel the movie struggling right along with him. Read more

J. R. Jones, Chicago Reader: The cast is excellent and the screenplay, by Frank Cottrell Boyce and Andy Paterson, is delicately attuned to the emotional cost of war and the terrible struggle to be healed. Read more

Michael Phillips, Chicago Tribune: [It] has many problems but also has Colin Firth ... Read more

Peter Rainer, Christian Science Monitor: Firth is very good at playing racked men of high principle. Read more

Chris Vognar, Dallas Morning News: Makes its targets clear: redemption, love, healing, handkerchiefs. Read more

David Rooney, Hollywood Reporter: A former P.O.W.'s extraordinary story gets a plodding retelling in Jonathan Teplitzky's poorly-structured drama. Read more

Gary Goldstein, Los Angeles Times: An impressively crafted, skillfully acted, highly absorbing journey into a dark corner of world history. Read more

John Anderson, Newsday: Why does the movie leave one cold? Read more

David Denby, New Yorker: A morally admirable but dramatically inert case of high-minded reconciliation ... Read more

Stephen Whitty, Newark Star-Ledger: In the end, for a movie about such a grim and grotesque chapter in history "The Railway Man" commits the most improbable sin of all. It's dull. Read more

Elizabeth Weitzman, New York Daily News: It's too intelligent to dismiss, but not emotional enough to inspire lasting passion. Read more

Stephen Holden, New York Times: [Firth's] modesty prevents "The Railway Man" from turning mawkishly sentimental once Lomax embraces the concept of forgiveness, and you can believe it's possible. Read more

David Hiltbrand, Philadelphia Inquirer: Beautifully acted, The Railway Man is profoundly moving, and yet, somehow, its sentimental ending manages to be both unearned and predictable. Read more

Richard Roeper, Richard Roeper.com: A prestige film that sometimes feels more like a history assignment than entertainment. Read more

Christy Lemire, RogerEbert.com: Throughout his career, Firth repeatedly has proven himself to be a master at steadily revealing his characters, and the way his Lomax eventually reclaims his identity before enjoying some redemption is gently stirring. Read more

Peter Hartlaub, San Francisco Chronicle: Firth and Kidman are both up for the challenge, complementing the compelling story with measured and memorable performances. Read more

Colin Covert, Minneapolis Star Tribune: The story, based on Lomax's memoir, is compelling. Jonathan Teplitzky's insipid screen version doesn't do the rich material justice. Read more

Joe Williams, St. Louis Post-Dispatch: "The Railway Man" is a polished locomotive that never builds up steam or deviates from its timetable. Read more

Liam Lacey, Globe and Mail: The critical problems are an overbusy time-jumping script and reliance on the conventions of the trauma drama - flashbacks, fragmentation, distorted time and space - that prove more a barrier than a window into the character's inner lives. Read more

Peter Howell, Toronto Star: The quality of mercy isn't just strained in The Railway Man, it's measured out by the teaspoonful. Read more

Claudia Puig, USA Today: For a well-acted movie about the horrors of war and the lure of revenge, it's surprisingly dull and starchy. Read more

Alan Scherstuhl, Village Voice: Has it ever occurred to contemporary commercial filmmakers that maybe audiences could take a movie's word for it that a character has been tortured? Read more

Michael O'Sullivan, Washington Post: It's a good, slick and well-intentioned film that wants so hard to be an important one that the slight feeling of letdown it leaves is magnified. Read more