TRANSSIBERIAN (***1/2) - Starring Emily Mortimer, Woody Harrelson, Ben Kingsley, Kate Mara, Eduardo Noreiga and Thomas Kretschmann.
Directed by Brad Anderson.
Horror may be stuck in a rut forever, but the suspense thriller still holds tons of promise. The train has always been a wellspring of claustrophobic potential cinematically, and it's put to good use here.
This might have made more money with a bigger named actress but I loved Emily Mortimer as Jessie. She and her husband Roy (Woody Harrelson) are traveling on a Russian train after a church mission in China when they meet a young couple also traveling. I don't want to give much away from the early moments, as I had no idea what was going to happen when I saw it. Needless to say, Ben Kingsley plays a Russian detective who has interest in this train, and it's unclear who's good or bad for a while, but the movie hinges on Mortimer, who gets herself into some high-suspense moments.
It's an intelligent, thoughtful thriller, with belieavable, breating characters. And a quick check to Rottentomatoes.com has it at 92%, so I'm not alone.
No comments:
Post a Comment