Night Train

A heart-warming little romance, with spot-on casting and great acting to paper over the cracks in the story line. Hurt plays the 'man of mystery' to perfection: "up to something strange in the attic".

A well observed Dublin also plays a part, as the setting for all or most of the location shots.

One quibble: has anyone ever built an extensive model railway in a rented room? That kind of hobby goes with a fixed abode! But no more implausible than John Hurt playing a romantic lead....

But quibbles aside, Hurt & Blethyn are superb, as usual, and deliver a delightful and diverting entertainment. Simply enjoy!

This film should have had wider distribution - I was lucky enough to see it at a festival two years after it was made, and I'd never heard of it before.

It's gentle, funny, tense - in fact there are some quite scary moments in it - well-acted, with shrewd observation of ordinary lives and relationships, and a believable plot.

I can't think of anyone I wouldn't recommend this to.

This was a mystery of sorts, but more of a romance. The story-line was a little ponderous to start with and "Night Train's" plot is rather common: a man with a troubled past, just released from jail, attempts to hide from a former employer-crook from whom he stole money; he hides in a rooming house run by an elderly widow with an unhappy spinster daughter under her mother's domination; the boarder and daughter become friends; as the crooks close in on the boarder, he convinces the daughter to escape and start a new life, which she does; he then admits that he's on the run because of stolen money, which she demands he return or forget the relationship. Hurt and Blethin were both well cast as the leads and they really did make the whole film work as it picked up momentum. The scenes aboard the Orient Express in Europe were simply beautiful and breathtaking and it was a shame that there wasn't a scene or two on the British Pullman but with the initial story being set in Ireland I guess it made sense to go by boat to Europe and pick up the Orient Express there. Based on the cover photo I was expecting a fast paced thriller but this was just right. Quirky little movie, but worth the time.

Overall rating: 7 out of 10.

Very low-key tale with a wonderful performance by John Hurt in particular. Also a movie worth watching for model train-buffs as Hurt's character has one of the most beautiful train sets ever seen on film!

Shot on location in Leeds NIGHT TRAIN also confirmed something I've suspected for quite some time: all British cities really DO look the same!

Night Train is a brilliant and sensitive film. It is directed in a wonderfully subtle way by John Lynch and acted by a distinguished ensemble cast which includes the great Pauline Flanagan as Mrs. Mooney. John Hurt and Brenda Blethyn could not be better cast in their roles of Poole the conman and Alice the shy bookworm. Their blossoming romance is a delight to experience and puts one in mind of another great film, Brief Encounter. The chemistry between Hurt and Blethyn is unsurpassed, in my opinion, particularly in the scene where she agrees to run away with him. Brenda has never been better, before or since, as she avoids the usual histrionics in a performance devoid of artifice and understated to sheer perfection. Director take a bow.

Delighted to see that Night Train is now available on DVD in the USA and Canada on the Madacy label and that it has also been re-released in the UK. Has anyone seen it on TV in the UK? The music by Adam Lynch is superb. Great performances, great direction, great soundtrack, great movie. 10 out of 10.