The Railway Station Man

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The Railway Station Man
Written by Shelagh Delaney [1]
Produced byAndree Molyneaux
Starring
Cinematography Bruno de Keyzer
Music by Richard Hartley
Release date
1992
Running time
93 minutes
LanguageEnglish

The Railway Station Man is a 1992 British drama film directed by Michael Whyte, and starring Julie Christie, Donald Sutherland and John Lynch. It was based on the 1984 novel of the same name by Irish writer Jennifer Johnston. [2] It was filmed on location in Glencolumbkille, County Donegal, Ireland.

Contents

Plot

Northern Irishwoman Helen Cuffe (Julie Christie) is overwhelmed with sadness when her husband is killed by the Irish Republican Army. She and her teen son, Jack (Frank MacCusker), then move to a tiny town and start life anew. There, Helen meets a mysterious American named Roger Hawthorne (Donald Sutherland), who is in the area to refurbish an old railway station. A romance slowly blossoms between Roger and Helen, but Jack then gets involved with a violent political group, and tragedy looms.

Cast

Production

It was filmed on location in Glencolumbkille, County Donegal, Ireland. The house was the former Cashelnagore railway station, the line closed in 1947. [3]

Julie Christie and Donald Sutherland previously worked together on Don't Look Now and there had been various attempts to get them together on a project again but their schedules did not line up. Sutherland was critical of TNT for one of the love scenes from the film being cut, in contrast to violence shown on television. [4] [5]

Reception

Ray Loynd of the Los Angeles Times praised the "depiction of the beautiful, foggy, damp Irish west coast" but was otherwise critical of the film. [6]

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References

  1. Leonard, John (19 October 1992). "The Railway Station Man: Bad luck of the Irish". New York . Retrieved 29 August 2016.
  2. "Fantastic Fiction: 'The Railway Station Man'", by Jennifer Johnston, fantasticfiction.co.uk; accessed 10 June 2014.
  3. Alanna Gallagher (21 December 2020). "A picture perfect Co Donegal station house for €299,000". The Irish Times . Archived from the original on 21 December 2020. long after the line closed in 1947.
  4. "SUTHERLAND ON … THE ACTOR TALKS ABOUT POLITICS, HIS SON KIEFER, WORKING WITH DIRECTORS AND HIS NEW CABLE-TV MOVIE". Sun Sentinel . 17 October 1992. Archived from the original on 3 December 2020.
  5. "BBC celebrates literary adaptations with season of classics". BBC . Twenty years after their pairing in Don't Look Now
  6. Loynd, Ray (17 October 1992). "TV REVIEWS : 'Railway' Veers Off Track". Los Angeles Times .