Film review: 'Night Train' Two Lost Souls Aboard 'Night Train' / Hurt , Blethyn turn in insightful performances for first-timer Lynch
An uneven mixture of suspense and middle-age love story, this directorial debut by Irish actor John Lynch is upgraded by the superb performances from leads John Hurt and Brenda Blethyn, who infuse their characterizations with a world-weary sensitivity and intelligence. Although a bit too low-key and schizophrenic for significant audience appeal, "Night Train" could attract some attention on the art house circuit because of the names involved and should fare well on video and cable.
The film was recently showcased in the Irish Cinema section of the Montreal World Film Festival.
Hurt plays Poole, an accountant just released from prison, where he was sent because of his work for a gangland figure. Unfortunately, the mild-mannered Poole had embezzled a quarter-million pounds from his boss, who has sent a henchman to retrieve it and exact revenge. Poole flees to Dublin, where he rents a room in a house inhabited by the busybody Mrs. Mooney (Pauline Flanagan) and her middle-age daughter Alice (Blethyn).
Poole takes a menial job at the local slaughterhouse and occupies himself by playing with his elaborate model train set. But Alice becomes increasingly intrigued with the quiet stranger living upstairs, and soon the pair, who find that they share fantasies of exotic travel, have embarked on a tentative romance.
Poole proposes a spur-of-the-moment trip to Venice, Italy, on the Orient Express, and the two happily go off together. But when he confesses the details of his past, and that the reason he wanted to go to Venice is that the money he stole is stashed there, Alice is disillusioned. She takes off on her own, while Poole must deal with his pursuers.
Although the suspense angle of the plot never really gathers steam, and a ridiculous subplot involving a cross-dressing neighbor is a needless distraction, "Night Train" succeeds because of its detailed characterizations and the insightful and highly appealing performances by the two leads, who refreshingly underplay and underglamorize their roles with a total lack of ego. Their touching portrayals of two lost souls finding love long after they ever expected to will resonate in your mind long after other, flashier thrillers have vanished from memory.
NIGHT TRAIN
J&M Entertainment
Creator: Director: John Lynch; Screenplay: Aodhan Madden; Producer: Tristan Orpen Lynch; Photography: Seamus Deasy; Editor: J. Patrick Duffner; Music: Adam Orpen Lynch. Cast: Poole: John Hurt; Alice: Brenda Blethyn; Mrs. Moonie: Pauline Flanagan. Also: Rynagh O'Grady, Peter Caffrey, Paul Roe. No MPAA rating. Color/stereo. Running time -- 92 minutes.
The film was recently showcased in the Irish Cinema section of the Montreal World Film Festival.
Hurt plays Poole, an accountant just released from prison, where he was sent because of his work for a gangland figure. Unfortunately, the mild-mannered Poole had embezzled a quarter-million pounds from his boss, who has sent a henchman to retrieve it and exact revenge. Poole flees to Dublin, where he rents a room in a house inhabited by the busybody Mrs. Mooney (Pauline Flanagan) and her middle-age daughter Alice (Blethyn).
Poole takes a menial job at the local slaughterhouse and occupies himself by playing with his elaborate model train set. But Alice becomes increasingly intrigued with the quiet stranger living upstairs, and soon the pair, who find that they share fantasies of exotic travel, have embarked on a tentative romance.
Poole proposes a spur-of-the-moment trip to Venice, Italy, on the Orient Express, and the two happily go off together. But when he confesses the details of his past, and that the reason he wanted to go to Venice is that the money he stole is stashed there, Alice is disillusioned. She takes off on her own, while Poole must deal with his pursuers.
Although the suspense angle of the plot never really gathers steam, and a ridiculous subplot involving a cross-dressing neighbor is a needless distraction, "Night Train" succeeds because of its detailed characterizations and the insightful and highly appealing performances by the two leads, who refreshingly underplay and underglamorize their roles with a total lack of ego. Their touching portrayals of two lost souls finding love long after they ever expected to will resonate in your mind long after other, flashier thrillers have vanished from memory.
NIGHT TRAIN
J&M Entertainment
Creator: Director: John Lynch; Screenplay: Aodhan Madden; Producer: Tristan Orpen Lynch; Photography: Seamus Deasy; Editor: J. Patrick Duffner; Music: Adam Orpen Lynch. Cast: Poole: John Hurt; Alice: Brenda Blethyn; Mrs. Moonie: Pauline Flanagan. Also: Rynagh O'Grady, Peter Caffrey, Paul Roe. No MPAA rating. Color/stereo. Running time -- 92 minutes.
- 9/14/1999
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
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