Having not been to the cinema for what seems like ages, due to a mixture of Christmas and general lack of inspiration (another three hours of Hobbit really couldn’t have been a less appealing prospect), I got back into the swing of things last night with a late screening of The Railway Man and the film has really lingered with me for the last 24 hours.

Technically, there is nothing flashy or particularly outstanding about the movie.  It occasionally, particularly in flashback, verges on being ‘quality Sunday night TV’ and Firth is Firth but what it does have is the patience to tell a powerful story in a simple way.  There is raw emotion but no melodrama, terrible violence but no wallowing.

The story of Eric Lomax has made me feel petty all day.  This film is worth watching.