Jon Peters Reviews: “Transsiberian”

I think ‘Transsiberian’ succeeds by not falling into the types of traps most thrillers make. It takes it’s time, first. The film is a slow burn; you’ll appreciate it a lot more after a few hours pass from seeing it. It’s a tough, cold, and very gripping thriller fro start to finish.

Woody Harrelson plays a typical squeaky clean American who lovers his wife as much as he does trains. Emily Mortimer in a really great performance plays his wife, who had a troubled past until she married him. Their vacation gets interrupted by a young couple who shares their compartment on the Trans-Siberian Express. Soon there on they are not what they seem and our American protagonists are caught up in a web of lies.

The film never over-plots and never wimps out. I think most thrillers try to make themselves edgy with quick cutting in the editing room and highly implausible twists in the plot. Brad Anderson doesn’t do that; his film is too smart for simple mechanics like that. Each scene is followed by another scene of common dialogue and events. By the last thirty minutes you’ll be recalling those seemingly average events and interactions and that’s where the film wins. Those scenes could’ve easily called themselves out, perhaps with an over-bearing score or weak writing. Anderson has crafted a truly interesting suspense film.

The film acts as a warning to American travelers. In one scene Harrelson proclaims ‘But we’re Americans’ to the Russian authorities and they don’t answer. The film rides along with the train and while it never feels claustrophobic you get a sense that no matter what they, there’s probably no escape. I think that really adds to the film. Something happens to Emily Mortimer’s character (I won’t spoil it) and as she tries to hide it, lies eventual surface. Ben Kingsley is in the film too and he’s really good here. He sees her lies but allows them to go on until he can read her correctly. We know the truth and we cringe into our seats as she continues to bluff her way out.

I enjoyed ‘Session 9′ and ‘The Machinist’ a great deal. Both were good thrillers in the tradition of Alfred Hitchcock. ‘Transsiberian’ is even better. I think here he has perfectly captured what makes a good thriller, something we can get invested in and doesn’t cop out to silly twists or turns. This is as good as I’ve seen in the genre and if critics must continue to use Hitchcock in every good thriller review to draw comparisons, well, Anderson has no better teacher. I’m sure he would’ve gotten a good grade.