Transsiberian
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DVD Cover Information
Artist: Woody HarrelsonBrand: First Look Pictures
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language)
Format: Color, Dolby, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.35:1
Running Time: 111 minutes
Published: 2008-11-01
DVD Release Date: 2008-11-04
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: FIRST LOOK PICTURES
Product features:
- TESTED
Movie Reviews of Transsiberian
Movie Review: Another impressive film from Brad Anderson
Summary: 5 Stars
Brad Anderson has been flitting around the edges of mainstream success for a decade now, notably in horror-pic "Session 9" and the surreal Christian Bale vehicle "The Machinist." "Transsiberian" is Anderson's third thriller, a film which should have elevated him towards the major ranks of film directors. While Anderson's directorial abilities have been in evidence for sometime, only now has he begun with a first-rate script. The screenplay, by Anderson and Will Conroy, is a true rarity in modern cinema: a slow-burning, legitimately Hitchcockian and often unpredictable suspense narrative. Indeed, the film is perhaps too slow moving for most mainstream audiences, with almost 45 minutes of pure exposition. Nevertheless, those who stick around will be treated to a staggering turn of events that generate enormous suspense from the previously somewhat mundane scenario. On second viewing the film reveals certain flaws, particularly some slightly overheated characterizations and a clinically, improbably clean screenplay. Nevertheless, my first viewing was truly gripping, and these small flaws do little to diminish the film's status as one of the finest thrillers in recent memory.
Like many of Hitchcock's more famed thrillers, "Transsiberian" takes care to establish a complete world before ratcheting up the suspense. The film centers on Roy (Woody Harrelson) and Jessie (Emily Mortimer), an American couple traveling on the trans-Siberian railroad after completing charitable work in Beijing. Roy is a good-natured and almost comically square Christian and train fanatic. Jessie seems almost equally open and genuine, though we soon learn that she has a rather colorful, drug-related past. They meet Carlos (Eduardo Noriega), the embodiment of the dark, mysterious European and his much younger American companion Abby (Kate Mara), a reserved, nervous girl who hides behind her coal-black eyeliner and wraps herself in her hoodie at all times. They soon become friends, even though Carlos displays an obvious attraction to Emily and proves to be a shifty and possibly untrustworthy individual. Troubles first arise when Roy mysteriously disappears, apparently left behind, and Carlos's overtures become more overt. These developments culminate in a truly surprising scene too significant to reveal here after which Jessie separates from Abby and Carlos and returns to the train to be reunited with Roy, who simply missed the train after all. Jessie, however, discovers a hidden load of heroin planted in her luggage just in time to meet Grinko (Ben Kingsley), a friendly but nosy Russian narcotics detective who has questions regarding Carlos and Abby.
The second half of "Transsiberian" centers on another prominent Hitchockian conceit, the innocent falsely accused and suddenly thrust into a nightmarish situation. The early scenes after Jessie returns to the train are almost unbearably intense, and I couldn't help but share Jessie's terror that the drugs will be discovered. (I can remember few other situations where I've been so worried for a film character.) Any discussion of the film is hamstrung by the need to avoid spoilers, as the film hinges on major twists, but "Transsiberian" has a subtle edge too, displayed in the layered, quiet conversations between Grinko and Jessie, where both are aware that the other knows far more than they will admit to. Though the story is impressively elaborate and often surprising, it could've stood to be a bit smaller, particularly towards the end. (It also grows more predictable as it moves along, but this is an inevitability.) I do not object that the final act degenerates into conventional thriller violence, but these scenes could've been less grandiose and more plausible. Similarly, the final twist is perhaps one twist too many, coming off as one last manipulation, rather than a natural extension of the story. (It's mere denouement, though, and does little to impact the film as a whole.)
Though the twisting plot draws most of your attention, Anderson's directorial abilities have not diminished, and the other elements are strong. Trains are an ideal, utterly claustrophobic setting for thrillers, and Anderson uses this element to the hilt while still contrasting it with the snowy, endless expanse of the Russian wilderness. (Not only is the train a suffocating prison, Jessie has nowhere to go even if she could escape.) Anderson also recreates the Hollywood vision of Russia, filled with gruff, often-isolated individuals, most notably the bundled, unsmiling old women who stare blankly at nothing in particular. Equally significant, the film displays a surprising human element. Mortimer's Jessie is a legitimately likable protagonist, and Roy proves to be endearingly straight forward and sincere. Even the sorrowful Grinko, who may be corrupt and who definitely is a threat to Jessie, draws some sympathy, as he seems to embody the decay of Eastern Europe. That said, some characterizations are too precise. Noriega's Carlos, for examples, is so utterly the European lothario and Thomas Kretschmann's narcotics detective working alongside Grinko is too purely brute and thinly written, and both figures cut against the initially natural feel of the film.
Still, the flaws are minor points, and they are only noticeable *because* of the film's stronger moments. (The contrivances in the plot only standout because the rest is so tightly and cleverly constructed, and the weaker characters are revealed by their surprisingly strong counterparts.) All in all, this is a truly impressive thriller which deserves a wider audience. This movie is pure suspense and intrigue. It does not have any higher agenda. And it doesn't need one.
Grade: A-
Summary of Transsiberian
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