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An
Ice Cold Thriller That Thaws a Little Toward
the End.
"Transsiberian" has a few things that I love
to see in movies...
Without being able to pinpoint exactly why,
I love seeing trains in movies. I have
no interest in them otherwise. It is a
strange quirk of mine, but I instantly perk
up when I spot a train in a film.
I adore films set in
a snowy landscape. "Fargo", "A Simple
Plan", "Runaway Train", "The Bourne
Identity" -- they all have a spectacular
visual feel that really appeals to me.
I also have a soft
spot for claustrophobic thrillers -- ones
that exist in a confined building or area.
My affinity for Hitchcock may be the reason
for that.
Finally, I have a
crush on Emily Mortimer. I will watch
any film she is in -- and, invariably, it is
worth while. She has terrific taste in
scripts and is consistently churning out
great work. Mortimer is fast becoming
one of the elite actresses of this decade.
So... With all that
on the table, "Transsiberian" had a leg up
on all the competition. I was dying to
see it. And until a slightly sloppy
final act, it lived up my own self-induced
hype. If it had just finished as
strongly as it started, it may just have
been one of the best films of the year.
Roy and Jessie
(Harrelson and Mortimer) are traveling the
infamously long train route across the baron
Siberian plains. They have just
finished charity work sponsored by Roy's
church in Beijing and are on their way to
Moscow. It is an eight day journey.
They share a cabin
with Carlos and Abby, a couple with
seemingly shady reasons for being so
friendly. Carlos is especially
aggressive, taking no precautions to hide
his sexual attraction to Jessie.
As tension mounts
with awkward conversations,
miscommunications and Roy's temporary
disappearance, our minds race as we try to
piece together who, what, when, where and
how.
"Transsiberian"
twists and turns more than the tracks we are
traveling on. It is only when Ben
Kingsley shows up as Detective Grinko that
we start to figure out everyone's positions
and motives.
Unfortunately, it is
with the entrance of Kingsley that the story
begins to fizzle. His character fails
to induce the menace and terror that is
intended. The part is written poorly
and Sir Ben's heart doesn't seem to be in
it. The final twenty minutes or so
start to feel contrived and unrealistic.
The premise and the
initial dramatic ascent are powerful -- both
promising a classic suspense ride. It
is a shame that the train arrives at the
station without so much as a whimper.
Still, on the whole, this is definitely an
overlooked film that is worth seeking out on
DVD on a snowy December night.
©
Written by TC Candler
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