The Girl on the Train: Movie Review

Based on Paula Hawkins’ best-selling novel of the same name, “The Girl on the Train” has all the right tools to deliver a solid dramatic-thriller.  We get a knock-out cast that includes Emily Blunt, Haley Bennett, Rebecca Ferguson, Justin Theroux, Luke Evans, Edger Ramirez, and Allison Janney. We also get a screenplay from Erin Cressida Wilson (“Secretary”) and a capable director in Tate Taylor (“The Help”).  With all this talent, how did “The Girl on the Train” turn out so terrible?

During her daily train commutes, Rachel Watson (Blunt) stares out the window and fantasizes about Scott and Megan Hipwell (Luke Evans and Haley Bennett respectively), a seemingly perfect couple that live in a beautiful home along the railway.  That home is just two houses down from where Rachel used to live with her ex-husband Tom (Theroux) and his current wife Anna (Ferguson).  Rachel is a broken person, who is devastated by the downward spiral her own life has taken.  She also suffers from alcoholism.

One day during her commute, Rachel witnesses Megan kissing a man on her porch that isn’t her husband.  The already unbalanced Rachel becomes even more unhinged when she decides to get off the train and confront Megan.  Things get even worse when Rachel wakes up at home, covered in blood with no memory of what happened the night before.  When Megan goes missing, Rachel decides to pay Scott a visit, misleading him that she was friends with Megan, she informs him that his missing wife was having an affair.  When Megan’s body does turn up, it shows that she was actually murdered and now Rachel needs to find out what really happened.

“The Girl on the Train” has a whole lot going on and with each added twist and turn, things get increasingly idiotic.  There is only one twist in the story that actually took me by surprise, but I pretty much had the whole ending figured out from early on.  It doesn’t help that the film is so incredibly dull and lacks any real thrills.  Blunt is actually pretty fantastic here, giving probably one of her finest performances, and probably the only good thing here.  It’s also a shame that Janney is underused as the tough detective on the case.  For those of you expecting the next “Gone Girl”, I am sorry to tell you that this is nowhere in the same league.

By: Marc Ferman