Railway Children movie storyline. Inspired by one of the most beloved British family films of all time, Railway Children is an enchanting, moving, and heart-warming adventure for a new generation. 1944 — As life in Britain’s cities becomes increasingly perilous, three evacuee children — Lily (Beau Gadsdon), Pattie (Eden Hamilton) and Ted (Zac Cudby) Watts — are sent by their mother from Salford to the Yorkshire village of Oakworth.
There to meet them on the train station platform are Bobbie Waterbury (Jenny Agutter, reprising her iconic role in the original film), her daughter, Annie (Sheridan Smith), and grandson Thomas (Austin Haynes), and with their help the evacuees are soon settling into their new life in the countryside. When the children discover injured American soldier Abe (KJ Aikens), hiding out in the railyard at Oakworth Station, they are thrust into a dangerous quest to assist their new friend who, like them, is a long way from home.
The Railway Children Return, known as Railway Children in the US, is a 2022 family drama film directed by Morgan Matthews and written by Danny Brocklehurst. It is a sequel to the 1970 film The Railway Children, itself based on the E. Nesbit novel of the same name. The film stars Jenny Agutter, Sheridan Smith, Tom Courtenay and John Bradley. It was released in the United Kingdom on July 15, 2022 by StudioCanal.
Film Review for Railway Children
It is 1944, and a fresh wave of bombings fall on Britain during the Second World War. Siblings 14 year old Lily, 11 year old Pattie and 7 year old Ted Watts are evacuated from Manchester to the village of Oakworth in the West Riding of Yorkshire, where they are greeted by Bobbie Waterbury, her schoolmistress daughter Annie and her 13 year old son Thomas. All the children are selected to be given homes by the locals but due to a request from officials not to split siblings up, the Watts trio are left.
When nobody else takes them, Bobbie welcomes them into their home. The siblings quickly bond with Thomas. The US Army has a base in the area, and there is a disturbance on their first evening. As they explore their new surroundings, the children are set upon by a group of local children not happy with their presence and Thomas welcomes them to his hideout in an old brake van by the railway station.
One day, Annie receives bad news about her husband who is away fighting in the war, reminding her of the deaths of Bobbie’s father and brother in the First World War. The children give her some space and play hide and seek at the station. Whilst there, they find an African-American soldier named Abe McCarthy in their hideout with an injured leg. He claims to be on a secret mission and that he has to remain hidden.
That evening a lone enemy aircraft drops a bomb on the town cemetery, causing Lily to fall as she brings a first aid kit and other supplies to Abe. He rescues her and reveals he joined the Army to avenge his brother who was killed in combat, but details about his story leaves her suspicious. The next day, white American Military Police arrive at the school looking for Abe and Lily learns that he is a deserter.
When she confronts him about it, Abe reveals that he is actually just 14 years old and that he is trying to return home after seeing how the US Army treat his fellow black soldiers who are often beaten by the Military Police, despite the town’s inhabitants refusing the US authorities’ request to impose a colour bar in the local pub.[a] She agrees to help him escape.
When Lily tells the others and plans to hide Abe at the house, Thomas initially insists they tell the truth to the grown-ups. Lily shoots him down at once and calls him out on his ignorance of the realities of the world, revealing that their father was also killed in combat. Thomas agrees to let Abe stay in the large storeroom next door to his bedroom. That evening, the family are visited by Walter, the widowed husband to Bobbie’s sister Phyllis.
The next day, Lily escorts Abe down to the station to catch a train to Liverpool and Thomas joins them to create a distraction so they can get on the train unnoticed. In doing so he is caught by the local police, who inform the US Military Police, who in turn stop and search the train further up the line. Abe and Lily are handcuffed, taken to the base and then put aboard a US Army supply train, also carrying senior officers.
Railway Children (2022)
Directed by: Morgan Matthews
Starring: Beau Gadsdon, Austin Haynes, Eden Hamilton, Zac Cudby, KJ Aikens, Jenny Agutter, Tom Courtenay, Sheridan Smith, Jessica Baglow, John Bradley, Hugh Quarshie, Neil Hurst
Screenplay by: Danny Brocklehurst
Production Design by: Jeff Tessler
Cinematography by: Kit Fraser
Film Editing by: Rebecca Lloyd
Costume Design by: Dinah Collin
Art Direction by: Paul Gilpin, Andy Watson
Music by: Edward Farmer, Martin Phipps
MPAA Rating: PG for thematic material, some violence and language.
Distributed by: Blue Fox Entertainment (United States), StudioCanal (United Kingdom)
Release Date: July 15, 2022 (United Kingdom), September 23, 2022 (United States)
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