The Railway Children Return!
The story told for over a hundred years was turned into a movie in 1970 and loved by generations of children, including me! I must have watched it when it was around 20 years old, having been read the book first, and I loved it. Later I took my own children to see the West End version on stage which was as terrific as the film and performed so beautifully with awe inspiring staging and now, all these years later with a re-make in the middle (whereby Jenny Agutter, who had played the lead character Bobby in the first film – a reprisal of her character from the earlier 1968 television adaption – played the mother), there’s a sequel to the original tale with The Railway Children Return. Of course, it wouldn’t be The Railway Children of any sort if Jenny Agutter wasn’t in it and this time, better than the re-make I feel, she is back playing her character of Bobby, this time as a Grandmother!
The original story is set in 1905 (the year before it was written) and so all the years later where Bobby is a Grandmother and the story is set during World War Two, with evacuations seeing another trio of children moving to the countryside to escape the bombs of Manchester and lucky them landing in the home of Bobby, her headmistress daughter (Sheridan Smith) and her son as the land is theirs for the taking with the railway, and all its potential for sparking interest, on their doorstep.
There is nostalgia and more than a nod to the original with just enough symmetry to make it very definitely Railway Children married and the story is not too dissimilar without being a re-hash of the story already told. I think I could never really get on board with the re-make, as I often cannot with films which do that when the original is perfectly decent as it is, but with this, I really fell in love!
The era has changed and the missing daddy belongs to not just the evacuees but the children living in the country as well and though Mr Perks is no longer the station porter, we have a new station master in Richard and a whole host of characters to fall in love with.
The film deals with racism and war beautifully within the main storyline and encapsulates a good, wholesome feel for all the family.
Jenny Agutter was obviously pretty wonderful in her reprised role while Sheridan Smith, as always, is wonderful; though I’m not entirely sure her invisable braces and more up to the minute beauty regimes are entirely in keeping with the era. Historical accuracy aside, the two female leads are pretty immaculate in performance!
The children were exceptional too with Eden Hamilton playing Pattie clearly stealing the !show – and some! What a talent – definitely one to watch. All in all a great film with lots of merit and absolutely enjoyable fodder for all ages!
We were invited to a multi media screening prior to release for review purposes.
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