Lead by winning performances from David Morrissey and Sheridan Smith, The 7.39 tells the tale of two commuters who slowly drift into the other's world on their daily train ride with potential to shake up the lives of both in ways both good and bad.
Carl (Morrissey) and Sally (Smith) both lead hectic home lives. Carl is dealing with the growing pains of two teenage children and his rising disquiet with the constraints of his ordinary life with wife and college sweetheart Maggie (Olivia Carleman). Sally is struggling to muster the enthusiasm needed for her impending second marriage to overly committed fiancé Ryan (Sean Maguire), who openly hopes Sally will be pregnant by the time the big day arrives so that their domestic bliss can begin in force.
The story is clearly inspired by the moving romance in classic film Brief Encounter. Brief Encounter thrives on the feelings felt but unspoken by the two leads, who fall in deeply into a love they refuse to act on. The film is set against the backdrop of classic rail travel, travel with a seemingly inherent semblance of romanticism lost today and homaged in current nostalgic fare such as Mad Men.
Today is an age where trains arrive by the minute and passengers push past each other as if shuffling through clothes in a wardrobe. A happy face running alongside or a crowd elatedly waving goodbye as a train departs is a rarely seen sight and rail travel has developed into a symbol of the daily grind of the work day, part of the trudging commute to get there and back again.
It's in these traditional moments of malaise that Carl and Sally unexpectedly find some escape from the apathy of their daily lives. In their increasingly less brief encounters the pair come to talk, share passions and histories, jokes and concerns and romance begins to bloom. The daily commute becomes the highlight of the day and the solace both need from their monotony of their routine and their frustrating personal lives.
The writer of The 7.39, David Nicholls, unfortunately fails to meet the lofty heights of Brief Encounter. This is an unfortunate side effect of the short running time of this two parter, spread over two hours, as it strains at times to sell the attraction between Carl and Sally. Moreover, it leaves no time for the quiet reflection found in Brief Encounter and the romantic pair here are quickly walking each other to work and pairing up as gym buddies before the viewer has time to fully become invested in their attraction. However, by the end of the first hour, Carl's yearning to explore a life outside the picture of domesticity he's lived in for so long and Sally's to run from entering her own makes for an engaging drama. It's just a shame that in the meagre time allotted that the drama struggles to establish itself beyond romantic cliche.
David Morrissey employs his usual charm as Carl so disarmingly that it is easy to root for the married family man to enter an affair with the spirited Sally. Of course, Sheridan Smith's mix of zesty personality and affable vulnerability makes her easy to fall for as she takes yet another step toward having 'national treasure' added as a permanent fixture after her name in all sensible discussions. The breezily likeable Olivia Coleman as Carl's wife Maggie, the woman Carl admits finishes his sentences, draws the viewer deeper into Carl's simmering conflict and leaves you torn much as he is as to what he should do as his romance with Sally develops. Unfortunately Sally's fiance Ryan isn't defined beyond a fondness for protein bars and weight lifting, leaving Sean Maguire little to do but seem vaguely controlling of his fiancé. This unfortunately gives a lingering sense that regardless of the outcome with Carl, Sally really will be better off if she never makes it up the aisle.
The primary themes driving this drama subtly reveal themselves over the hour. The story that Carl and Sally are pitching to themselves is one of two people discovering untapped potential and romance amongst the ennui of their daily lives. However, as the budding romance creeps towards secret affair a creeping sense that roused destructive impulses motivate the two leads cannot be shaken and these self-sabotaging desires threaten to tear the lives of Carl and Sally apart.
Part One of The 7.39 aired on BBC One on 6th January 2014 at 9.00pm and can be found streaming on BBC iPlayer now. Part Two airs tomorrow on BBC One at the same time.
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