2008 - TRANSSIBERIAN, a good mystery thriller

A very good mystery thriller reminiscent of a Hitchcock film particularly The Lady Vanishes, although Hitchcock generally stayed away from mystery stories.  Emily Mortimer and Woody Harrelson play American missionaries returning from a trip working in China at their church mission.  They choose to take the Transsiberian Railroad which is a seven day train ride that runs through the heart of frozen Siberia.  While on the train they meet another couple who they bond with.  Meanwhile a Russian police detective is on the trail of a killer that has stolen a supply of some illegal drugs.

This is a rare thriller that spends time supplying backgrounds to the characters in the film which helps create a lot more realism and tension when they  begin to fall into danger. The film is also helped by some excellent photography of the cold snowy landscape and the action highlights are nicely judged.

 

For the most part the actors give excellent performances with British actress Emily Mortimer a standout  playing an American wife with a complicated past.  Woody Harrelson not really one of my favorite actors actually does a good job as her hayseed hardware store manager husband.  Ben Kinglsey is the Russian detective who at first seems like a decent guy but is a hardened cop underneath his likable persona.

 

The film was a disappointment at the box office for some reason and lost money, the victim of poor marketing perhaps, who knows.  It's still a very good film in a time when it's hard to put together a decent thriller.

The film was written by the directer Brad Anderson and Will Conroy.  The running time is 111 minutes.