TRANSSIBERIAN

Some of the best thrillers take the train and director Brad Anderson (The Machinist) shows exactly why. He’s retooled locomotive propulsion for the 21st century, depicting the formerly glamorous Transsiberian Express as a shady microcosm of Russian criminality hurtling across the wintry landscapes from Beijing to Moscow. Woody Harrelson and Emily Mortimer are the presumed innocents aboard, American missionaries taking the scenic route home after a stint in China. Politely resisting the come-ons of a louche young Spaniard and his suspiciously sedated girlfriend is not enough to keep our wholesome pair clean on this runaway express. Ben Kingsley is ice cold and riveting as the Russian narc whose ominous pronouncements on human nature foreshadow a gruesome, morally murky climax.

“Nasty but effective... Transsiberian has terrific Siberian location work, a carefully constructed atmosphere of creeping dread and an outstanding performance by Emily Mortimer.” — Andrew O’Hehir, salon.com