Masterpiece
How "Runaway Train" bombed at the box office in December, 1985, I'll never know because it's the perfect blend of blockbuster thrills and weighty subtext.
The story involves Manny (Jon Voight), a notorious prison hero, who escapes a maximum security prison in the frozen wastelands of Alaska. He is joined by a naive follower (Eric Roberts) and they stow away on a train consisting of four locomotives, but the train runs away. Meanwhile, the arrogant warden (John P. Ryan) is on the warpath for Manny.
"Runaway Train" is such a powerful experience because it's much more than just a mindless action flick, as the title would suggest. The thrilling events are actually a stage for a fascinating study of the human condition. Manny is a hardened convict who's "at war with the world and everyone in it." When called an animal he replies, "No, worse -- human!"
This is a man who wants one thing, freedom, but he knows that he's too far gone to make it in conventional society. He shares a parable with his dumb partner, made up on the spot, about having a menial job and submitting to the boss even though you might want to rip his throat out. This is the key to making it in society -- submitting to authority and resisting the rage within; and then getting your check on payday and enjoying the fruits thereof. Manny wishes he could do this, but knows he can't. So what hope is there for him in modern society? If he can't do that then why's he escaping prison? In other words, Manny knows there's no hope for him, even if his escape is successful. To him, freedom can only come one way. I don't believe this, but I understand why he believes it.
There's another potent scene where Manny has a knife and mercilessly comes against his own "partner". You see the rage on his face, like a cornered animal. After intense emotions are vented Manny suddenly realizes... and then he just bows over, utterly spent. A character, who should be afraid of him, somehow understands and compassionately reaches out in a semi-embrace.
Powerful scenes like these are combined with surreal images of the misshapen locomotives barreling down the tracks in the freezing wilderness accompanied by the ominous score by Trevor Jones. Some parts of the score scream mid-80s, but other parts are timeless.
Rebecca De Mornay has an atypical role as a railroad worker who stumbles on to the convicts. She intuitively sees through their macho posturing. Although she knows they're desperate & dangerous, she also sees that they're not wholly evil. Roberts is basically a kid at heart and Manny is just blinded by the incredible rage within. He's only irredeemable because of his stupid pride, built up over years of hardened confinement.
Voight is near unrecognizable as Manny and Roberts is just superb as his dumb sidekick. These two along with De Mornay are examples of acting at its finest.
John P. Ryan is very effective as the machismo warden Ranken, but his Captain Ahab-like role comes off too comic booky to be plausible. Yet Ranken shows that you can be an "animal" on the outside of prison just as much as on the inside. Both Manny and Ranken are corrupted by pride, but Manny at least knows it. And he's not too far gone to recognize those who are worthy of life and to respond accordingly.
The film was shot in Montana (Anaconda & Deer Lodge) and Alaska (Whittier & Portage) and runs 1 hour, 51 minutes.
GRADE: A+
