People don't recommend movies to me very often; I think they assume that I've probably seen everything already. One of my friends though asked me to watch "Last Train to Christmas" as he'd seen it, and he wasn't sure what to think of it. I agreed, assuming that, as it's bundled with a lot of other Sky produced releases this festive period, that it would be light Christmas froth. It certainly wasn't that.
In 1985, Nottingham based empresario Tony Towers (Michael Sheen) boards a train home from London, with his fiancé Sue (Nathalie Emmanuel), brother Roger (Cary Elwes) and his wife Paula (Katherine Kelly). The brother's relationship is strained as Tony plans to a risky strategy of opening a number of clubs across the East Midlands. As Tony looks for the buffet section, he walks to the next carriage and inexplicably finds himself in 1995. In shabby clothes, he comes to learn that the clubs have failed, and he is near destitute. Tony discovers that each carriage on the train is a different decade in his life and he can change aspects in his own past. Despite the best of intentions though, the changes often have unforeseen consequences.
Again, I came to this one expecting light Christmas comedy, akin perhaps to something like the "Nativity" films. The opening scenes tend to support that idea too. Sheen is sporting a comedy mullet, his sparring with his brother and sister-in-law is fun, though with a little edge to it. The longer the films runs though, the darker the storyline gets, as family secrets are exposed, characters come and go from the story and none of Tony's changes turn out as planned. I see from some of the other reviews, that people struggled to follow the storyline. I can't say that was a problem for me, but I was surprised as it kept expanding and we saw further and further back into Tony's life.
Sheen is brilliant in everything, and there's a capable cast surrounding him. Some characters get more screen time than others, but Cary Elwes is excellent too. I live in the East Midlands. I think it's a really hard accent to nail without drifting too far North and becoming Yorkshire and I think, though not perhaps note perfect, both actors do a good job of landing it. There are aspects of the recreations that I liked, particularly when it comes to the train itself and despite not being a real comedy, there are regular funny moments.
Why not a higher score then? It too has been said in other reviews, but it's the ending for me. I don't need every film I see wrapped up in a nice little Christmas bow, but I felt the journey that Tony went on warranted a less ambiguous happy ending than the one we got. (I do have a specific one in mind, but I want to keep the review spoiler free).
That issue aside, I felt that "Last Train to Christmas" was an interesting and moving film that I wasn't expecting at all and am still thinking about days later.
