The 7.39

There is so very little to look forward to on telly these days, but this is just incredible. A host of great people, great characters and a great script. I have read all the typically superfluous comments re. Oh the 7.39 is always so crowded, where is the fat balding bloke etc etc. the 7.39 does not go from West Sussex to paddington. I am a railway enthusiast and even I groaned at that one !! Having been fortunate enough to experience a very intense wonderful affair of this type, this is so realistic, I was spell bound and cannot wait for tonight. The looks, the subtle body language, the doubt, the intense rush it's all there and yes I hope the lust will be there as well. Well it is 2014, even if it's the London commuter belt and all that and the stuffy old south of England !! Well done the BBC for showing this, well done to the actors and actresses a modern day Brief Encounter, fantastic !! More please.

I approached this movie thinking it can't be much --- and I'm glad to state I was wrong.

The story is easy to understand --- life can become a rut and then you find yourself stuck in a daily routine. The rewards become transparent and frustration can set in quickly.

Here we have two people, Carl & Sally, who come to cross purposes on a commuter train one morning. With an apology later from Carl the ice is broken between our two characters. They both find out through just daily talking that there is a common thread between them. A friendship develops and then more comes into their lives.

What's so marvelous about 'The 7:39' is how the relationship progresses and the brilliant ability of the writer and director to keep this old and over told story consistently fresh and lively, start to finish.

It's 2 hours long but it's worth the watching !!!

The 7:39 was shown over two nights and is a modern reworking of Brief Encounter which is was itself was re-jigged in 1984 as 'Falling in Love' when it starred Robert De Niro and Meryl Streep.

David Morrissey and Sheridan Smith meet during an early commute to London where they argue over a seat. In subsequent encounters during the morning rush hour, they form a friendship and later have a steamy affair.

David Morrissey is the middle aged, middle management worker in commercial property with a horrible boss. he hates the daily grind of going and coming back from work.

He is married to Olivia Coleman, they have two teenage children, one about to go to university. He finds that for the first time in years he has a buzz and a spring in his step because of the affair.

Sheridan Smith is a personal trainer engaged to get married but unsure as to whether to commit and this affair with an older man seems to provide a pleasant diversion.

Of course we have the predictable consequences with Morrissey not performing in his job effectively and getting fired, Coleman finding out about the affair and finally being confronted by Smith's boyfriend.

An enjoyable drama, light on its feet, not heavy handed. The workplace scenes were so true to life with the actor playing Morrissey's boss nailing the part of the slimy, douche-bag.

Just a shame the serial was a bit by the numbers.

The 7.39 is the latest screenplay to hit the (TV) screens from the pen of David (One day) Nicholls comes across as an update or homage to Brief Encounter. The 1945 original is rightly considered a classic, written by Noel Coward and directed by David Lean it's very much a film of it's time.

This was shown recently over two nights on BBC1 and follows a similar pattern with the two leads being tempted into cheating on their partners. David Morrissey is well cast as the middle management office worker married to Olivia Coleman with two teenage children. Sheridan Smith is equally effective as a personal trainer recently engaged to Sean Maguire who clearly works out.

Knowing David Nicholls this won't be a "and they all lived happily ever after" ending and it isn't. But the journey is what this film is all about and it's quite a ride, with highs and lows along the way as the miss-matched pair get to know each other better.

There is not much humour or nudity in the film but it's definitely an adult film with consequences for actions taken, it also works as a story much better than the film adaptation of One day did.

Overall 8/10 highly recommended.

David Nicholls' reworking of the David Lean classic shifts the action from wartime Carnforth to contemporary London. Carl Matthews (David Morrissey) and Sally Thorn (Sheridan Smith) have a chance meeting, see each other on a regular basis on the 7.39 morning train from an unspecified suburb to the center of London, and fall in love. Unlike Trevor Howard and Celia Johnson in the earlier film, their love is not restricted to clandestine meetings in a station canteen, but develops into a full-blown affair. Nonetheless the outcome is much the same, as they realize that there is no future for either of them. The story is a familiar one, set against the backdrop of contemporary London - a teeming, high-tech city that alienates many of its citizens. John Alexander's direction vividly captures the heartlessness of contemporary urban life, with shots of a crowded train whose passengers seldom, if ever talk to one another, and interior shots of Carl's office, where the employees are separated from one another by glass screens. No one, it seems, has the time or the inclination to relate to one another. Thus it is perhaps inevitable that Carl and Sally should try to seek an alternative through love. Shot mainly in a series of shot/reverse shot sequences, THE 7.39 is an intense drama focusing on the characters' unspoken feelings: a close-up of Sally's tortured expression as she leaves Carl for the last time tells us far more about her pent-up emotions than dialog ever can. The casting is highly effective: Morrissey towers over Smith, suggesting that the couple are both physiognomically as well as emotionally ill-matched. Nonetheless they take full advantage of the affair while it lasts.