Review // The Girl on the Train

[projekktor id=’25638′]

The Girl on the Train by Paula Hawkins is a best selling psychological thriller and mystery that centres on a broken alcoholic and her obsession with a mysterious woman whose life she glimpses from the train window during her daily commute. Like the novel, the film adaptation was touted as the next Gone Girl, something director Tate Taylor took to heart when bringing this adaptation to the big screen.

The Girl on the Train stars Emily Blunt as Rachel Watson, a divorcee with a drinking problem. On her daily train commute she fixates on the couple who live next door to her ex-husband Tom (Justin Theroux). Rachel always sits by the window to get the perfect view of the house hoping to glimpse into the life she wished she had. Despite being complete strangers to Rachel, Megan (Haley Bennett) and Scott (Luke Evans) appear to her as the perfect couple – beautiful, wealthy, and most importantly, deeply in love. When Rachel witnesses Megan kissing another man one day she becomes enraged by the betrayal. It reminds her of the betrayal she felt when she discovered her husband was cheating on her with his current wife Anna (Rebecca Ferguson). After stewing at the bar all day, an intoxicated Rachel decides to confront Megan and staggers down to her old neighbourhood on her way back from the city. When Rachel wakes up covered in bruises and bleeding from a head wound she suspects she had a bad night, but when she discovers Megan is missing she suspects the worst. In an attempt to remember the night and her involvement in Megan’s disappearance Rachel begins investigating the disappearance herself.

The film has its moments, the mystery is intriguing, the twists are captivating and Emily Blunt staggers with precision as the lead. But it is steeped in so much melodrama that it’s hard to take seriously as a dark thriller. At the screening I attended the audience burst into laughter at some of the most “intense” moments. As a viewer who was chuckling right along with the crowd, it was clear to see why. There is very little release from tension, it just keeps building, and when the motives and connections are revealed they just seem so unimportant. Being stylized like Gone Girl doesn’t make it the next Gone Girl. The mystery unravels slowly but is predictable and without the intrigue of a character like Amy Dunne. The Girl on the Train doesn’t have enough crazy to justify the melodramatic moments, and though entertaining, it lacks the legs to go further then a date night distraction.