When you think of train movies from the British Isles, you think of "Brief Encounter" and those sort of aching love stories they don't make any more. Well, they do.
Irish-made "Night Train" brims with all those British quandaries -- repression, isolation, insecurity -- and then wonderfully spills over into a satisfying if bittersweet resolution.
A sold-out hit at the Toronto International Film Festival, this John Hurt-Brenda Blethyn starrer should similarly nourish the mature hearts of art house audiences in the United States.
In Brit-speak, Mr. Poole (Hurt) is more than a bit of a "chancer." He's done time for embezzlement, and his life, by his own admission, has "no core." No family, no friends, no home: The only people who care for him are the sadistic thugs he formerly conned for. They want to know where the money is.
Upon his release from prison, Poole seeks sanctuary in the classified section, finding yet another solitary room as a lodger. Right off, his landlady, Mrs. Mooney (Pauline Flanagan), a reproving biddy who never leaves the house, categorizes him as trouble. But then again, no one measures up positively to her sour and demanding criteria -- particularly anyone who gets near her daughter, Alice (Blethyn). A middle-aged, unmarried woman who toils away as a legal secretary, Alice has no life other than her highbrow reading (Waugh, Greene, Austen).
While Alice escapes the doldrums of her life through literature, Poole assuages his loneliness by playing with his extensive model train set. He fusses with it in his tiny, second-story room, which tends to make Mrs. Mooney even more bats.
The cantankerous old woman mostly resents the friendship that has developed between Poole and her daughter. That Alice has taken to visiting Poole's room and finds the same sort of cathartic escape in his train, as it travels through Europe to the Orient, infuriates the old woman. As Poole and Alice watch the train speed from Paris through the Alps and on to Asia, both are invigorated by the potential of travel, as well as sobered by their own personal life regrets.
This burgeoning friendship and love between the spinster secretary and the ex-con is developed with spry grace by screenwriter Aodhan Madden and framed with affectionate bounce by director John Lynch. "Night Train" is packed throughout with the sort of tiny, grand moments that one has almost forgotten once existed in the movies. A large part of its modest grandeur is owing to the spare yet radiant lead performances of Hurt and Blethyn.
With his weathered visage and downtrodden manner, Hurt embodies the shrunken form of a man who has been weighted down by life. Most eloquently, he taps into the tiny but powerful flicker of life still within Poole. Hurt shows that there is, indeed, a core to this man -- and when Poole discovers that fact, it is perhaps the film's most glorious moment.
Blethyn's exquisitely layered performance as the repressed Alice is also superbly modulated. She shows us that there is an uncommon spark of adventure and a wellspring of love beneath Alice's drab exterior. Blethyn's accomplished skill in revealing her character's blossoming is truly remarkable.
A constant delight is Flanagan's performance as the sour Mrs. Mooney. Her staunch and ornery delivery truly makes one shudder.
Technical contributions are, in the character of the movie, understated and therefore most powerful. Cinematographer Seamus Deasy's evocative use of high-shot camera angles clue us to both the inner dynamics of the character and the potential of the world outside.
NIGHT TRAIN
Alternative Cinema Co.
A J&M Entertainment production
Producer: Tristan Lynch
Director: John Lynch
Screenwriter: Aodhan Madden
Co-producer: Derek Ryan
Director of photography: Seamus Deasy
Editor: Pat Duffner
Costume designer: Maeve Paterson
Production designer: Alan Farquharson
Color/stereo
Cast:
Poole: John Hurt
Alice Mooney: Brenda Blethyn
Mrs. Mooney: Pauline Flanagan
Winnie: Rynagh O'Grady
Walter: Peter Caffrey
Blake: Paul Roe
Billy: Lorcan Cranitch
Liz: Cathy White
Running time -- 92 minutes
No MPAA rating...
Irish-made "Night Train" brims with all those British quandaries -- repression, isolation, insecurity -- and then wonderfully spills over into a satisfying if bittersweet resolution.
A sold-out hit at the Toronto International Film Festival, this John Hurt-Brenda Blethyn starrer should similarly nourish the mature hearts of art house audiences in the United States.
In Brit-speak, Mr. Poole (Hurt) is more than a bit of a "chancer." He's done time for embezzlement, and his life, by his own admission, has "no core." No family, no friends, no home: The only people who care for him are the sadistic thugs he formerly conned for. They want to know where the money is.
Upon his release from prison, Poole seeks sanctuary in the classified section, finding yet another solitary room as a lodger. Right off, his landlady, Mrs. Mooney (Pauline Flanagan), a reproving biddy who never leaves the house, categorizes him as trouble. But then again, no one measures up positively to her sour and demanding criteria -- particularly anyone who gets near her daughter, Alice (Blethyn). A middle-aged, unmarried woman who toils away as a legal secretary, Alice has no life other than her highbrow reading (Waugh, Greene, Austen).
While Alice escapes the doldrums of her life through literature, Poole assuages his loneliness by playing with his extensive model train set. He fusses with it in his tiny, second-story room, which tends to make Mrs. Mooney even more bats.
The cantankerous old woman mostly resents the friendship that has developed between Poole and her daughter. That Alice has taken to visiting Poole's room and finds the same sort of cathartic escape in his train, as it travels through Europe to the Orient, infuriates the old woman. As Poole and Alice watch the train speed from Paris through the Alps and on to Asia, both are invigorated by the potential of travel, as well as sobered by their own personal life regrets.
This burgeoning friendship and love between the spinster secretary and the ex-con is developed with spry grace by screenwriter Aodhan Madden and framed with affectionate bounce by director John Lynch. "Night Train" is packed throughout with the sort of tiny, grand moments that one has almost forgotten once existed in the movies. A large part of its modest grandeur is owing to the spare yet radiant lead performances of Hurt and Blethyn.
With his weathered visage and downtrodden manner, Hurt embodies the shrunken form of a man who has been weighted down by life. Most eloquently, he taps into the tiny but powerful flicker of life still within Poole. Hurt shows that there is, indeed, a core to this man -- and when Poole discovers that fact, it is perhaps the film's most glorious moment.
Blethyn's exquisitely layered performance as the repressed Alice is also superbly modulated. She shows us that there is an uncommon spark of adventure and a wellspring of love beneath Alice's drab exterior. Blethyn's accomplished skill in revealing her character's blossoming is truly remarkable.
A constant delight is Flanagan's performance as the sour Mrs. Mooney. Her staunch and ornery delivery truly makes one shudder.
Technical contributions are, in the character of the movie, understated and therefore most powerful. Cinematographer Seamus Deasy's evocative use of high-shot camera angles clue us to both the inner dynamics of the character and the potential of the world outside.
NIGHT TRAIN
Alternative Cinema Co.
A J&M Entertainment production
Producer: Tristan Lynch
Director: John Lynch
Screenwriter: Aodhan Madden
Co-producer: Derek Ryan
Director of photography: Seamus Deasy
Editor: Pat Duffner
Costume designer: Maeve Paterson
Production designer: Alan Farquharson
Color/stereo
Cast:
Poole: John Hurt
Alice Mooney: Brenda Blethyn
Mrs. Mooney: Pauline Flanagan
Winnie: Rynagh O'Grady
Walter: Peter Caffrey
Blake: Paul Roe
Billy: Lorcan Cranitch
Liz: Cathy White
Running time -- 92 minutes
No MPAA rating...
- 9/28/1998
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.