It's no surprise that just about everyone, in reviewing this TV mini-series, draws the very obvious parallel to "Brief Encounter". BE is still a wonderful movie but, by today's standards, it does look quite dated and, frankly, a little bit silly with its wistful looks and its secretive suggestion of illicit sex going nowhere. No surprise also therefore that a decision was made to make an updated version of that classic with, in many ways, its far more believable (but in many ways flawed) lead characters. This mini-series is wonderful and only the end lets it down.Dare I suggest that there's barely a married man alive at any time who didn't feel precisely the way Carl felt about Sally. It's a story as old as marriage itself. The romance was tender and very believable, the affair was sweet and the love was obviously genuine. SO, WHY THEN, is it never possible, in a tale such as this one, for the two characters who share the sweet romance and the love they feel to share a life together as Carl and Sally probably should have done? The final scenes with Carl back with his family and Sally in a relationship with someone other than the child's father were really not quite believable and, for me at least, were a decided let-down.It's a very fine mini-series but it is flawed only in the ending of the story it tells. It's rewarding for most of its length but, for me, a slight disappointment in the conclusion.JMV

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.

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 !!!

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.