Transsiberian 2008
Transsiberian had special appeal to me since I took the same trip that the two main characters took from Beijing to Moscow, although I had the good sense to take it during the summer rather than the Siberian winter (I still had to buy a sweater). While I met some nice people on the train, Woody Harrelson and Emily Mortimer aren’t quite so lucky. We know there is something wrong with their cabinmates right away. While Harrelson plays against type and is not the drug dealer, his wife has a shadier past and quickly finds herself drawn to people who live life more on the edge. Mortimer has to really deliver some great acting as she struggles with her situation as it spirals more and more out of control. There are some neat twists and turns along the way that keep you on the edge of your seat. It’s certainly entertaining even though it isn’t a great movie. They do capture the desolate cold of Siberia (though the kind of lame DVD extras point out it was filmed in Lithuania) and the precariousness of traveling overseas in unfamiliar territory through a country that is still very much on the frontier of civilization. Despite a few bad decisions, anyone could end up in a bad situation like this and struggling to find a way out.
Written: 30 Nov 2008
Owned on: Blu-ray