Transsiberian: why no hyphen or space in the title? seems odd. All in all I liked this movie, although not as much as Roger Ebert. For his take, check out:
http://rogerebert.suntimes.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080814/REVIEWS/808140304
Some very good acting here, except for maybe Woody Harrleson, who played his character a bit over-the-top. Still not bad, however. A special nod for Emily Mortimer’s performance. Having not really read the movie description on the back of the DVD, I was pleasantly suprised at several of the plot twists. We can never really pinpoint the villians until really the very end. Grinko is cast as a perennial good cop, but as we learn in the end, has a bit of a dark side as well.
The most interesting character in the movie, is Jessie. This movie is successful mostly because of her, and the fine performance of Mortimer. The scene at the condemned church is the highlight of the film, the most unexpected, and in a weird way, disconnected, scene in the entire movie. In terms of the plotline, this extra bit of drama is not really necessary. And one of the problems I find with this movie is her ultimate redemption from her actions there at the end of the movie, when Carlos’s past is revealed.
Even though Jessie blatantly went overboard in murdering Carlos, her womans’ intuition is proven just and correct, for it just so happens Carlos is a convicted sexual offender. Jessie clearly overreacted to Carlos’s actions, but she just so happened to have the right instinct there. Seems a bit too cute. Maybe he was going to rape her, maybe not.
Another minor quibble– and I understand with movies you have to sometimes suspend disbelief– is with Carlos’s body not being found by the cops. They knew in well enough time that something went down at the church, and would have had plenty of means to discover the body. If not, then what about the wolves? Grade: B+
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