Transsiberian

 3/4

Starring: Emily Mortimer, Woody Harrelson, Ben Kingsley, Eduardo Noriega, Kate Mara, Thomas Kretschmann

Rated R for Some Violence, including Torture and Language

"Transsiberian" is a thriller about a train trip from hell.  By grounding his film so well, director Brad Anderson has given it a new level of urgency and dread.  These people feel real, and that's what makes it so scary.

Roy (Harrelson) and Jessie (Mortimer) are a married couple on their first international trip.  They're from Iowa and when their church was organizing a mission to China, they jumped at the chance.  But it's time to return home, and they've decided to skip the flight and take the Trans-Siberian Railway (Roy is obsessed with trains).  Things go well at first, and they hit it off with their cabin companions Carlos (Noriega) and Abby (Mara).  It doesn't last long, however.

I'm not about to give away the plot, which is best discovered for yourself.  But let me explain why it works.  Anderson takes time to develop Roy and Jesse as normal people.  They're clearly naive and not worldly enough to be cautious when they should be.  Particularly Roy, whose gregarious personality and lack of guile make him easy prey for those with malicious intent.  They're strangers in a strange land, and are just becoming aware that the rights and values they grew up with in the States do not apply where they are.

Emily Mortimer never disappoints, and in a way, this is her story.  She isn't an experienced traveler and is blind to the fact that oversharing or being careless can harm her.  But Jessie is also smart.  She learns fast and quickly understands how to play the game of intrigue.  Woody Harrelson is simply sensational as Roy, a man who is bursting to the seams with goodness.  He's always positive and forgiving, and he wears his heart on his sleeve.  It's a terrific change of pace for the actor, who normally plays macho guys that hide their emotions.

Their co-stars are in top form as well.  Eduardo Noriega is a fabulous villain; no one can generate unease with a smile like he can.  And Kate Mara keeps us guessing as to whether or not Abby is who she claims to be.  For her own reasons, Jessie believes, or needs to believe, that Abby is genuine, but is she?  And Ben Kingsley can either wear a white or a black hat, and relishes the opportunity to do both.

Unfortunately, there is a downside to the film: its length.  Anderson is making a slow-burn thriller, which is the correct way to film this story.  But the film takes the better part of an hour to get going.  A good ten minutes could have easily been sweated out from the final cut, making it leaner and meaner.  Even worse, all this set-up doesn't help.  Anderson still keeps them at a distance, which mutes the thrills.  With its strong cast and unpredictable storyline, this is a movie that feels like it should be more intense than it actually is.

Still, the film does work.  Anderson and his cast deserve praise for making this film feel so realistic.  Roy and Jessie could be us, and that's what makes it so scary.  Nothing that happens in this movie is of the "only in the movies" variety.  Flawed as it is, it's well worth checking out.

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