After a period of volunteer work with needy children in China promoted by his church, Roy (Woody Harrelson) and his wife Jessie (Emily Mortimer) decide to travel to Russia by train through the Trans Siberian Railway. Roy is a naive American with a great passion in locomotives and Jessie is an aspirant photographer haunted by her past of "bad girl". During the travel, they share their cabin with the Spanish Carlos (Eduardo Noriega) and his American girlfriend Abby (Kate Mara) and they befriend the young couple. In a layover, Roy visits other trains in the yard and is left behind; Jessie decides to wait for him on the next station and Carlos and Abby stay with her. While waiting for Roy, Carlos invites Jessie to travel to the countryside with him and they see a ruined church in the middle of nowhere. Carlos tries to force Jessie to have sex with him, and Jessie kills him with a plank. Jessie does not report the crime and meets with Roy in the next train. When Roy presents the narcotic division detective Grinko (Ben Kingsley) that is sharing the cabin with him, Jessie finds that Carlos was trafficking drugs and scared, she tells many lies to them. However the experienced Grinko does not buy her story and the couple gets in trouble.
"Transsiberian" is a thriller with a promising beginning, good first half but with a poor commercial conclusion. Roy, performed by Woody Harrelson, for example, is the stereotype of an American tourist overseas, silly and naive. Jessie is a complex, credible and very well developed character, performed by the wonderful Emily Mortimer. Ben Kingsley is outstanding, as usual, and Eduardo Noriega and the unknown Kate Mara complete the great lead cast. The cinematography is very beautiful supporting the tense and cold atmosphere; the screenplay and the direction keep the tension along the plot. However, there are some weird situations, like for example Jessie and Roy disclosing their intimacy to new acquaintances; or Jessie unable to get rid off the drugs in the train. The conclusion is unrealistic and disappointing, but anyway this movie is entertaining. My vote is six.
Title (Brazil): "Expresso Transiberiano" ("Trans-Siberian Express")
"Transsiberian" is a thriller with a promising beginning, good first half but with a poor commercial conclusion. Roy, performed by Woody Harrelson, for example, is the stereotype of an American tourist overseas, silly and naive. Jessie is a complex, credible and very well developed character, performed by the wonderful Emily Mortimer. Ben Kingsley is outstanding, as usual, and Eduardo Noriega and the unknown Kate Mara complete the great lead cast. The cinematography is very beautiful supporting the tense and cold atmosphere; the screenplay and the direction keep the tension along the plot. However, there are some weird situations, like for example Jessie and Roy disclosing their intimacy to new acquaintances; or Jessie unable to get rid off the drugs in the train. The conclusion is unrealistic and disappointing, but anyway this movie is entertaining. My vote is six.
Title (Brazil): "Expresso Transiberiano" ("Trans-Siberian Express")