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Transsiberian
Roy (Woody Harrelson) is a caring devout Christian who is on his way
from a missionary in China to Moscow via the snowy Russian expanses on
the Transsiberian railway and travelling with him is his 'former bad
girl now also full Christian' wife Jessie (Emily Mortimer). Whilst
whittling away the hours the meet another young couple of smooth
Spaniard, Carlos (Eduardo Noriega), and his mysterious partner Abby
(Kate Mera). The couples hit it off and after finding that Carlos and
Abby are returning from a teaching job in Japan, though something is off
with this pair, Roy and Jessie are blinded by their faith and share a
sleeping compartment with the two.
While at a stop, Roy decides to dash off and quickly check out a nearby
train graveyard, unfortunately he doesn't make it back to the station in
time and misses his own train, leaving Jessie alone with Carlos and
Abby. Fearing leaving her husband behind, Jessie decides to get off at
the next station to wait for Roy, and Carlos and Abby agree to stop with
her. Forced to share a hotel together, Jessie starts to see the real
desires of this travelling pair and the true reason they are travelling
on the Transsiberian. She isn't the only one though, a Russian inspector
on the trail of drug runners using the railway for smuggling across
countries also bumps into Jessie, and they happen to find some items
from Carlos in Jessie's bag.
This is one of those Hitchcock like tales that has a spindle of
interweaving twists and constant surprises. Most of the unpredictability
is genuine and while the start is rather slow, the pace builds and adds
to the dramatic content. The plot twists do get a little much and could
be toned down a little as the 'questions not answered' nature does get a
touch frustrating but thrillers like this are like a house of cards, and
if you remove one piece then it all falls down. Woody Harrelson is great
as always with the flanders-esque Roy, and Emily Mortimer has taken
another stepping stone in pushing her great career. The casting is
pretty much perfection across the board and no player change would add
to this final product.
The backdrops are breathtaking, set in a obviously unique environment of
the Russian tundra, though the DVD reproduction didn't seem to have the
same kick that will likely transfer to the Blu-ray version. The audio is
crisp at Dolby 5.1 and the obvious minimalistic sound tracking builds
tension perfectly.
Most people enjoy a good Thriller occasionally and will enjoy this
effort. There are some splashing of confronting violence which drag up
the MA15+ rating but removing those it would easily pass for the more
uptight viewer also. It's certainly not going to hit a pedestal with
instant DVD collection notoriety but it's certainly not worth passing
over on the shelf. A enjoyable ride for a cosy Monday night popcorn
fest.
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