Transsiberian (2008) DVD

Following a stint of missionary work, religious do-gooder and train enthusiast Roy (Woody Harrelson), and his former bad-girl wife Jessie (Emily Mortimer) board the train for the famous five-day journey from Beijing to Moscow.

En route they meet a most suspicious young couple, a dodgy Russian narcotics detective (Ben Kingsley) and other national stereotypes before the plot morphs into an engaging exploration of the our capacity for deceit, corruption and instinctual violence.

Things get increasingly tense and claustrophobic as the naïve Roy goes missing and smuggled drugs are planted in the couple’s cabin, while beautiful if ever-more hostile landscapes rush past the train.

Up until the last 30 minutes that is – whereupon the predictable finale limps its way to the long overdue credits. Packed with a kidnap or two and a train-based shoot out, it’s not altogether unthrilling, but it doesn’t make the most of what preceded it. Harrelson and Mortimer’s back-stories in particular feel pointless and, moreover, monumentally time consuming.

‘Don’t you be talking to strangers’ is basically the sum of this film’s message. And when he had the opportunity to explore something much more interesting with a great cast, it’s a disappointment to see Anderson resorting to a ‘wronged American abroad’ conclusion.

Rebecca Ribichini