Night Train (I) (2009)

Two Passengers and the conductor discover that a person has passed away on their Night Train cabin. They come across valuable diamonds on his person, that they wish to keep for themselves. ... See full summary »

Director:

Brian King

Writer:

Brian King

Stars:

Danny Glover, Leelee Sobieski, Steve Zahn

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Danny Glover	...	Miles
Leelee Sobieski	...	Chloe
Steve Zahn	...	Pete
Matthias Schweighöfer	...	Frankie (as Matthias Schweighoefer)
Takatsuna Mukai	...	Hiro
Togo Igawa	...	Yamashita
Richard O'Brien	...	Mrs. Froy
Jo Marr	...	Mr. Cairo
Constantine Gregory	...	Mr. Gutman
Harry Anichkin	...	Walter
Geoff Bell	...	Detective
Luca Bercovici	...	Man
Marianne Stanicheva	...	Woman (as Mariana Stanisheva)
Dessi Morales	...	Nurse (as Desislava Nikolova-Morales)
Yana Atanasova Popova	...	Little Girl

Storyline

Two Passengers and the conductor discover that a person has passed away on their Night Train cabin. They come across valuable diamonds on his person, that they wish to keep for themselves. So, to make it look like the man never boarded the train, they conspire to dump his body in a river that the train passes. Their scheme to get rid of the corpse escalates to the point where they have to chop up his body just to fit him into a small trunk. They then become paranoid, as they might turn on each other.

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Plot Keywords:

train | conductor | corpse | trunk | cut arm | 

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Taglines:

Greed has its price.

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Genres:

Action | Crime | Mystery | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for violent content and some language

Details

Country:

USA Germany Romania

Language:

English

Release Date:

30 April 2009 (Taiwan)

Also Known As:

Foniki diadromi

Filming Locations:

Bulgaria

Company Credits

Production Co:

A-Mark Entertainment, Film Tiger, Instinctive Film

Technical Specs

Runtime:

83 min

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Color:

Color

Did You Know?

Trivia

The character names of Gutman (Constantine Gregory) and Cairo (Jo Marr) are direct homages to those played by Sydney Greenstreet and Peter Lorre in The Maltese Falcon.

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Goofs

When the train is stopped by the police - during the whole time the policeman checks the passenger list - the filming inside the train is accompanied by train wheel sounds, suggesting it is moving (actually quite fast).

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Quotes

Miles: There's no vote! No democracy! My train is a damn dictatorship, and I'm the damn dictator! So put down that knife, cleaver, or whatever hell you call it - and return to your damn seat! And your damn senses!

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Connections

References The Lady Vanishes (1938)

User Reviews

Leelee is molten

Leelee Sobieski is the main reason for seeing this low-budget train thriller. From a mousy medical student in a watch cap in the beginning to a cleaver-wielding, blood-spattered maiden of death by the end, she gives a performance of unsettling ferocity.

A train has stopped in the darkness during a snowstorm and two conductors, one of them Danny Glover in decent-guy mode, are on the tracks smoking when a man clutching a package stumbles out of the woods. The conductors allow him on board with the understanding he'll buy his ticket later. Once aboard, the stranger settles in a lounge car, where he swallows a bunch of pills, washing them down with vodka. Next thing you know, he's dead of an overdose.

Only two other people were in the lounge car to witness this, an alcoholic salesman played by Steve Zahn in his usual goofball-loser mode and a medical student with a studious, ultra-serious demeanor played by Sobieski. They call the death to the attention of the conductor played by Glover.

They become curious about the man's package and look inside. It contains a small wooden box with perforations allowing them to see what's inside, which is apparently worth a king's ransom because everybody who looks inside gasps in wonder. This is our macguffin and it serves much the same purpose as the briefcase in "Pulp Fiction." It doesn't really matter what's inside; you just know everybody wants it.

The three conspire. First order of business -- disposing of the body (black, black humor). Then things get complicated. Turns out the three conspirators are not the only ones who knew the stranger was on the train with his package. You know nothing good is going to come of this and you are absolutely right. Betrayal. Mayhem. Murder.

In order to enjoy this movie, you have to overlook a lot of major implausibilities. For such a long train, there's hardly anyone aboard. Plot points involving night ice fishing and murderous electrical tape are also hard to swallow.

All the exteriors of the train hurtling down the track at what looks like 200 mph are cheap CGI. Doesn't matter. We get it -- fast train, darkness, lots of snow, in the middle of nowhere.

And then there's Leelee Sobieski, icily delivering lines with blood on her face and insanity in her eyes. Whoa.