It's 1980. Eric Lomax (Colin Firth) is still haunted by his war experiences. He is prone to violence and is a train fanatic. He tells his war buddy Mr. Finlay (Stellan Skarsgård) that he has fallen in love with Patti (Nicole Kidman) after meeting her on a train. He would marry Patti. During the war, Eric (Jeremy Irvine) was forced to work on the Burma railroad construction after the fall of Singapore. He heroically accepted the blame for building the radio and was brutalized by a particular Japanese secret police officer. Patti and Finlay find the feared Japanese officer (Hiroyuki Sanada) is still alive.
The later time period has the better actors. The acting in the modern era is superior but the story drags at times. The earlier war period has the more compelling prisoner experience. Both have deficiencies. The movie switches back and forth to keep the story going. When the two men finally meet, the movie feels like it stalls. Originally I would say the movie needs to compress the ending. However I've come to the conclusion that the problem is a lack of tension. At no point did I expect Eric Lomax to kill the man. The movie needs to set up the tension or else the drama isn't there.
The later time period has the better actors. The acting in the modern era is superior but the story drags at times. The earlier war period has the more compelling prisoner experience. Both have deficiencies. The movie switches back and forth to keep the story going. When the two men finally meet, the movie feels like it stalls. Originally I would say the movie needs to compress the ending. However I've come to the conclusion that the problem is a lack of tension. At no point did I expect Eric Lomax to kill the man. The movie needs to set up the tension or else the drama isn't there.