Film review: ‘THE RAILWAY CHILDREN RETURN’, by Nick Gardener from ‘Built For Speed’

The inevitable challenge for any film sequel is to live up to the expectations raised by the original.  When that sequel arrives many years after the first film, so that the original has come to be seen as a minor classic or at least a childhood favourite, the sequel’s task is that much tougher.  This is one of the problems affecting The Railway Children Return, the reasonably entertaining but largely underwhelming sequel to the much-loved British drama, The Railway Children from 1970.

While The Railway Children was set in 1905, Return takes place in 1944, a time when London had been largely devastated by German bombing and parents were sending children to live in the countryside to escape the misery and danger of the city.  Here, the three Watts children: 14-year-old Lily (Beau Gadson), 11-year-old Pattie (Eden Hamilton) and seven-year-old Ted (Zac Cudby) are despatched to Yorkshire where they’re billeted with the local school’s Headmistress Annie (Sheridan Smith) and her mother who just happens to be the older sister “Bobbie” (Jenny Agutter) from the first film.  Already rambunctious kids, the three Watts children find their penchant for mischief lands them in frequent trouble and earns the ire of local townsfolk.  Things take a more serious turn when they stumble across a young, injured African American soldier who had fled his unit after racist abuse and wants their help to return home.

While many will desperately want this film to capture the magic charm of the original it never quite does that.  The problem lies mainly in the script. This is a busier film which, rather than energy and momentum, tends to generate clutter as we flit from one minor drama to another.  Whereas, the original film took its time to immerse us in the characters and their world, the story and characters here never gain a strong foothold.

Also, the film contains too many convenient coincidences that allow storylines to easily wrap up.  At times, events work out like something from an episode of Skippy.  Also, potentially dramatic scenarios such as a bomb landing near the town or the locals aggressively objecting to the city interlopers, are never developed and seem to end in trite fashion.

It should also be noted that, while this film is for the most part, acceptable family fare, there are some violent scenes that parents may consider inappropriate for really young children.

Return was filmed in essentially the same locations as the original, including the famous Oakworth railway station.  While these are attractively verdant sites, the film suffers from the visual flatness and lack of texture of digital video especially when compared with the original’s 35 mm film.  It also contains some dodgy-looking CGI depicting a bombed-out London.

While the pressure for fan service isn’t quite as intense for The Railway Children as it is for say, a Marvel film, many will no doubt want frequent allusions to the first film and a strong emotional connection with that world they loved.  While the use of the same locations partly delivers this, there’s only a brief reference to the circumstances the children faced in the original film.  Jenny Agutter’s Bobbie is the only character from that film here and while she isn’t completely sidelined, she may be a little too peripheral for many fans’ liking.

Sheridan Smith, who’s a terrific actor as anyone who has seen her excellent episode of the British black comedy/ drama series Inside No.9 will attest, also isn’t given quite enough of a role to really assert herself here.  The three Watts children have a vigorous energy which youngsters in the audience should enjoy but are at times a little too mischievous and even bratty to fully secure our sympathies.  KJ Alkens provides a reasonably poignant and likeable performances as the young African American solider Abe.  John Bradley does a decent comic turn as the local station master, Richard Perks but doesn’t come close to Bernard Cribbins who played the station master (and although not explicitly stated is apparently Perks’ grandfather) in the first film.

The Railway Children Return is, a few violent scenes aside, amiable enough family viewing but at times seems more like a Famous Five instalment with a few contemporary issues mixed in rather than a completely coherent film.  Unlike its predecessor, I doubt that in 50 years we’ll be hailing it as a family favourite.

Nick’s rating: ***

Genre: Drama/ historical

Classification: PG           

Director(s): Morgan Matthews.

Release date: 15th Sept 2022.

Running time: 95 mins.

Reviewer: Nick Gardener can be heard on “Built For Speed” every Friday night from 8-10pm on 88.3 Southern FM.

 

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