Transsiberian DVD Review
I like a good mystery, and Transsiberian delivers that and more. The film is about an American couple traveling on the Trans-Siberian Express, a train twisting across the Siberian landscape. Woody Harrelson plays Roy, a practicing Christian on his way to Moscow after doing volunteer work with needy children in China. He enjoys trains, is a bit naive, and his engaging personality draws people to him. On the other hand, his traveling companion and wife, Jessie (Emily Mortimer), a photographer, is distant and suspicious, and seems very brooding and dark to Roy’s light and childlike personality.
My rating: 
While on the train, the pair meet and befriend a young couple, Carlos (Eduardo Noriega) and Abby (Kate Mara), who are seasoned travelers. Jessie feels a connection to both—she is drawn to Carlos because he is also dark and mysterious, and she is protective of Abby, who reminds her of herself when she was younger.
While Carlos hits on Jessie, Roy is oblivious and ends up left behind—literally—at a train stop. Jessie is left with Carlos and Abby, and is drawn into a web of deceit, lies, and, apparently, drug trafficking, which makes them all prime targets of ex-KGB detective Grinko (Ben Kingsley).
Director Brad Anderson (who directed/co-wrote happy Accidents), and co-writer Will Conroy don’t waste too much time on back story here with the characters, but they do give just enough hints to enable viewers to piece together important plot points such as Roy and Jessie’s marital discord, which lays the foundation for the remainder of the film.
Harrelson (Battle in Seattle, A Scanner Darkly, “Cheers”) plays the bumbling, trustworthy Roy well, and Mortimer (Lars and the Real Girl, Match Point, Dear Frankie) is perfectly cast as the brooding, pouty, unhappy Jessie. Mara (Shooter, We Are Marshall, Brokeback Mountain) is well cast as wild child Abby, and Noriega (Vantage Point) plays the bad boy believably. Kingsley (You Kill Me, Lucky Number Slevin, Suspect Zero) rolls out the Russian accent to perfection in Transsiberian, which also stars Thomas Kretschmann (Wanted) and Etienne Chicot (The Da Vinci Code).
Transsiberian was filmed in Lithuania, and the setting, particularly the train, seems to be yet another character in the film. Post-Soviet Russia is shown in all its glory, complete with nonfunctional toilets and windows and the train, which the train employees don’t seem too concerned with.
The film is presented in its original theatrical aspect ratio of 2.35:1, with audio in Dolby Digital 5.1 or Dolby 2.0 stereo track, and optional English and Spanish subtitles. It’s rated R for “some violence, including torture and language.”
Part “don’t talk to strangers”, part holiday gone wrong, Transsiberian is a film about being at the right place at the wrong time. Had Roy and Jessie been on the train and not befriended Carlos and Abby, the film still would have been an interesting drama about marriage and growth. That it became a mystery/thriller only upped the ante, making it a tense thriller with a dramatic heart.
I give Transsiberian 3.5 stars out of 5 stars.