Even after its release 52 years ago, Lionel Jeffries's adaptation of "The Railway Children" was something of a throwback: gentle, low-conflict family entertainment, faithfully drawn from E. Nesbit's 1905 children's novel, which harkens back to an Edwardian- era the England of steam trains, rolling green fields, and close-knit village communities. At the time, it caught a wave of nostalgia that cemented it firmly in the British popular canon, though it never achieved the same status as a classic abroad. Half a century later, it is still fervently considered "they don't make them like they used to." A very late follow-up, Morgan Matthews' "The Railway Children Return" aims to prove that, in fact, they do.
Effectively piling nostalgia upon nostalgia upon nostalgia into a three-layered Victorian sponge of particularly English sweetness, this affable and decidedly old-fashioned film will probably make any adult who grew up on Jeffries's original a little bleary-eyed. Whether it will resonate with their own children is the question that will be answered when Studiocanal releases "The Railway Children Return" in UK cinemas on July 15. Although Daniel Brocklehurst's script, from a treatment by producer Jemma Rodgers, in theory updates the proceedings of the original turn. In a 20th-century setting, it's hardly a modernization: the year is now 1944, though it's still the Mesozoic era in the eyes of Generation Alpha.
Director: Morgan Matthews
Writers: Daniel Brocklehurst, Jemma Rodgers
Stars: John Bradley, Jenny Agutter, Sheridan Smith
The change is a canny one, however, as the WWII setting gives the filmmakers an obvious reason to essentially recycle the premise of the first film of city kids adapting and exploring when they move to the countryside. from Yorkshire. In "The Railway Children," the three Waterbury siblings, led by the headstrong Bobbie, played by then-teenager Jenny Agutter, were plunged into relative poverty and moved from London following their upper-class father's arrest. Here, the young people in question are among legions of evacuee children transported from their urban homes to relative rural safety from World War II aerial bombardment. The film wastes no time in setting these emotional stakes, beginning with a suitably harrowing scene of tearful father-son farewells at a Manchester train station, and attacking viewers' tear ducts early.
Good spirits prevail soon enough. The original family dynamic is perfectly reflected in the new film's engaging trio of siblings, with entrepreneurial teen tomboy Lily (Beau Gadsdon, previously seen in "Rogue One" and "The Crown") taking on the responsibility of rebellious Pattie ( Eden Hamilton) and sensitive little brother Ted (Zac Cudby) when they arrive in the sleepy West Yorkshire town of Oakworth, where "The Railway Children" was first set, with a talkative herd of waif companions. As local families step up to take in the children of their choosing, Lily, Pattie and Ted's savior turns out to be none other than the grown-up Bobbie, played with brilliant benevolence by a returning Agutter, still living in the town. beautiful country house that his family settled in all those years ago.
Part sequel and part remake, “The Railway Children Return” abounds with such affectionate callbacks to its origin, from recontextualized narrative details to regenerated characters like John Bradley's gracious stationmaster. These various nods to older viewers are integrated into a simple adventure plot that ultimately goes its own way, distinct from the more episodic framework of the original.
Accompanied in their mischief by Bobbie's naïve grandson Thomas (Austin Haynes), the kids meet Abe (Kenneth Aikens), a teenage African-American soldier on the run from a racially abused military unit, and agree to secretly shelter him. , although there is no doubt that Bobbie, a staunch liberal and proud feminist, would support them in their mission.
Thus, Matthews' film allows for occasional hints of real-world ugliness in dewy-eyed, apple-cheeked entertainment, attractively shot through a truly gilded lens by DP Kit Fraser. The threat of war never completely recedes into the background, with the uncertain fate of the parents of several children hanging anxiously over the proceedings, while a scene of an unexpected air raid is truly moving.
Watch The Railway Children Return 2022 Movie Trailer
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