Oscar Watch: Tough trailer for 'Railway Man' with Colin Firth

Posted Tuesday, September 10, 2013 at 5:13 PM Central
Last updated Tuesday, September 10, 2013 at 5:17 PM Central

by Tim Briscoe

Have you ever watched a movie trailer and thought "that looks like a good movie but I have no interested in watching it"?

That was precisely my thought about this preview for The Railway Man starring Colin Firth and Nicole Kidman. It looks to be yet another fine performance from these great actors but it also seems difficult to watch. I even thought about not making a mention of it here but felt compelled when I noticed today is Firth's birthday.

Join me and wishing Colin a happy 53rd birthday by watching this preview:

As you can see, Firth stars as World War II prisoner of war Eric Lomax. Years after his wartime trauma, he attempts to deal with his former captor. It's not an easy subject for certain. Any kind of torture is hard to watch. The preview easily conjures memories of the classic POW film The Bridge on the River Kwai.

The Railway Man just had its premiere at the Toronto International Film Festival. It got pretty lackluster reviews from The Hollywood Reporter and Variety.

Regardless of critics' early views, this film is bound to get some award attention just for the performances. Firth and Kidman are mainstays.

We don't yet know when this film will be released in the U.S. I assume it'll be readied for December. Distributor Lionsgate hasn't given The Railway Man a date.