From the very first scene, the audience
experiences a deep sense of foreboding; an unrelenting dread that
lingers throughout. So, allow me to warn you: do not watch this film is
you're already feeling less than cheery.
The movie centres
around Jessie (Emily Mortimer) and Roy (Woody Harrelson); an American
couple travelling from Beijing to Moscow on the transsiberian railway
after working as missionaries in China. Their journey becomes
complicated, however, when their strange cabin mates, Carlos (Eduardo
Noriega) and Abby (Kate Mara), board the train.
The two
couples form an unlikely, and at times uneasy, friendship that exposes
both the dark and light aspects of each character. Bundle this together
with a heroin heist and an unsavoury pair of cops (Sir Ben Kinsley and
Thomas Kretschmann) who stop at nothing to catch the culprits, and this
couple are in for the worst ride of their life.
Mortimer
shines as our protagonist, Jessie; a profoundly flawed woman, trying to
right a troubled past but unable to escape her true nature. Harrelson
does a superb job as her husband Roy, who acts as her moral compass. At
first he comes across as overbearing and controlling, however, without
him to guide her she flounders, making decisions which lead to
unfathomable horrors that not only endanger her own life, but his also.
All characters contain elements of good and bad; they are all
flawed in some way, yet redeemed in others. The overall look of the
film is very dark, although shot against the backdrop of the Siberian
snow. Black and white is used frequently to symbolise the theme of
right and wrong, yet, the film hints at the fact that morality is not
black and white, but many shades of grey.
However, whilst the
film's dreariness is aesthetically fitting, it does make it irksome at
times to catch what is happening when adapted from cinematic to
television screen.
Transsiberian is often incredibly
hard to watch. There is a constant feeling that things will only get
worse for the characters (to the point where you start to think there
is no possible way for things to deteriorate further...but they do.
Over and over again).
Although Transsiberian is very well
constructed, and beautifully acted, it does lag and often feels as long
as the train ride itself.
An ultimately rewarding experience, but exhausting in its relentless sense of dread. DVD Special Features
Not a great deal on offer here, which is surprising considering
Madman are usually offer up quite an impressive array of extras for
their cult releases.
For what it's worth, there is a brief "Making Of" featurette as well as the Original theatrical trailer.
Conclusion:
Movie 75% Extras: 45%
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