The Girl on the Train
Starring: Emily Blunt, Haley Bennett, Justin Theroux, Rebecca Ferguson, Luke Evans
Directed by: Tate Taylor
Rated: R
When I was 5, I was beyond excited because I got to go to New Orleans for the first time. Half of my excitement hinged on the fact that we were traveling by train. During the train ride, the kitchen caught on fire and the train stopped for a few hours. Eventually the train started up again and we reached our destination. That is my most thrilling train story. The Girl on the Train looks to go beyond every day train experiences (like the incredible paragraph you just read) and create a psychological thriller from a passenger's point of view. Does it succeed though? Let's all get on board and see.
Every day, Rachel (Emily Blunt) gets on a train to New York City and passes an idyllic house with a seemingly perfect couple, Scott and Megan Hipwell (Luke Evans and Haley Bennett). She doesn't know anything about them, but fantasizes about their life. When Megan goes missing, Rachel tries to get involved in the investigation. Her recent divorce and alcohol addiction sprout erratic behavior and Rachel soon becomes a suspect in the disappearance. Can she be trusted? Or is someone else hiding something?
Emily Blunt completely carries this movie as Rachel. Struggling with alcohol addiction, Rachel is deeply vulnerable. She'll black out for hours and can't account for her actions. One of the films more compelling themes is Rachel's obsession with Megan and Scott. She views the two as the perfect couple (although she has never met them.) This delves into Rachel's need to project her failed relationship onto another couple and idealize them as perfection.
Haley Bennett is another standout in the cast as Megan, dubbed fittingly as the "mistress of self-reinvention." Bennett brings the character to the screen just as I imagined while reading the book.
Comparisons to Gone Girl are unavoidable in The Girl on the Train. Both are mysteries involving unreliable narrators and psychologically twisted plots. However while Gone Girl challenged its audience with themes of gender politics, media manipulation, and marital strain, The Girl on the Train feels like a Lifetime melodrama devoid of complexity. It's a shame because there's a lot of material to work with here. If done correctly, this could have been a deep dive into the lives of 3 women in varying stages of suburban America: the ex-wife, the mistress turned wife, and the seemingly perfect wife. At times, the film gives glimmers of interesting social commentary on these women, but it never comes close to the commentary of Gone Girl.
Another major issue here is the nonlinear narrative. The timeline jumps between 3 narrators and moments in their lives from 3 years ago to present day to 2 months ago. If we were dealing with one character, nonlinear flashbacks would be fine, but with 3, the story begins to feel bloated and confused.
The cinematography is a deeply disappointing aspect as well. The entire movie is filmed in dull grey tones without exciting angles or shots. Cheap slow motion is a staple when moments get ultra dramatic. All of these aesthetic elements make the film look like a TV movie...or maybe an early 90's thriller.
The Girl on the Train has a lot of potential, but never takes off. Despite a great performance from Emily Blunt, this is just an average thriller. For a cerebral thriller with similar themes, just watch Gone Girl.
My Rating: 5/10