The Girl on the Train – Film Review
Director: Tate Taylor
Starring: Emily Blunt, Haley Bennett, Luke Evans, Rebecca Ferguson and Justin Theroux
Release Date: 5 Oct
Like an intense game of Cluedo, there’s few things more enjoyable than watching a good mystery. Unlike most film genres, it engages you; it gets your mind going. You race to your own conclusions as the film races to an end.
Who did what, and how? Can you guess the right answer before the credits roll?
And unlike Cluedo, there are no threats of bodily harm if you get it right. If this sounds appealing to you and if you enjoyed other mysteries such as 2014’s Gone Girl, then The Girl on the Train is definitely worth seeing.
Based on the 2015 psychological-thriller novel of the same name, The Girl on the Train revolves around the perspectives of three different women. Rachel Watson (Blunt), an alcoholic divorcee takes the train to work every day and back home again every night.
She spends her train journeys as anyone without a smartphone does; fantasizing about the people she sees and pondering over what their lives might be like.
In this case, she’s primarily fixated on a couple who live en route on her train journey, Scott and Megan Hipwell (Evans, Bennett). She projects her own desires onto them, dreaming wistfully of their happy lives and the constant affection they have for each other.
Which may potentially be at odds with reality, as is suspected when Megan is reported missing…
This isn’t a simple ‘who-dunnit’ mystery of course. Rachel is clearly in a fragile state of mind, her divorce weighing heavily and noticeably on her. She haunts her ex-husband, Tom (Theroux) and his new wife Anna (Ferguson), barraging them with phone calls and surprise visits.
There is an almost Fatal Attraction flavour to these events, which makes it a little disappointing that we don’t see much from Anna’s point of view.
Fortunately, there is plenty of intriguing backstory to chew on from Megan’s perspective. We quickly learn that her demons are almost enough to rival Rachel’s. She bears some deep sexual frustration, which is expressed terrifically in one scene in a therapist’s office. This is exacerbated by something of an existential crisis and all of it weaves together very organically to produce a thought-provoking thriller.
While comparisons to Gone Girl are obvious, this film arguably surpasses it. It isn’t as drawn out for one thing, and the tension is palpably higher (aided in no small part by Danny Elfman’s soundtrack).
It certainly kept me more intrigued than Gone Girl and its characters are a lot more interesting and complex.
Thematically, it hones in on the concept of abuse in all of its forms. Alcohol is the springboard, but then it dives into the murkier waters of physical and mental abuse.
The kaleidoscope of flashbacks and unreliable narrators comes together to form a narrative that teases us with the truth before taking it away again. Clues are laid before us at a steady pace, but you’re unlikely to have a eureka moment unless the film wants you to.
Much like his earlier feature The Help, Tate Taylor presents us with yet another strong female-focused film, with the majority of men taking a backseat from the spotlight. This is underlined even further with the supporting cast, with the likes of Allison Janney, Lisa Kudrow and Laura Prepon all having lasting effects in the grand scheme of things.
While there’s the odd moment where the narrative dwindles, and a somewhat jarring switch of location feels a little over the top, this is still an excellent film, with brilliant central performances provided by Haley Bennett and Emily Blunt.
In terms of psychological thrillers, it’s not as masterful as Hitchcock.
Yet it shows Tate to be a more than adept pupil.
Rating: 4/5
Written by Graeme Redmond
