The Girl on the Train

I don’t think there is anything quite like a good thriller. A perfect whodunit of a sinister crime like murder is always captivating and when you have tragic characters whose lives all interlock, it makes the mystery all the more dark and engaging. The manhunt for the wrong man, the odds against the protagonist, and his/her unwavering quest to find the mysterious truth always strings us up for intrigue, shock, and suspense. Such a film is The Girl on the Train. 

Based on the novel by Paula Hawkins, the film follows tragic protagonist Rachel (Emily Blunt), divorced and alcoholic who rides the train to the city and back every day, passing the haunting stretch of houses where she used to happily live with her husband. During her ride Rachel becomes obsessed with creating stories for the people she sees on that suburban strip, particularly one pretty maiden named Megan (Haley Bennett). Blissful and a little envious of Megan’s happy marriage, Rachel’s image of her is shattered when she sees her having an affair with another man. The plot thickens as Megan mysteriously goes missing that same day and Rachel is placed under suspicion of murdering her. Having no memory of her actions that day, but determined to prove her innocence Rachel enters into a sinister and shocking mystery that will not only affect her life, but those of the people along that suburban strip. 

Done in a style reminiscent of Gone Girl, The Girl on the Train is a classic modern thriller. It’s not perfect, as I’ll get into later, but it comes pretty damned close! As far as the story goes, it’s got all the key ingredients for a great thriller: we’ve got plot misdirection, the unreliable narrator, multiple characters with motives and tragic histories that play to the whodunit theme and contribute to the mystery, the manhunt for the wrong man/woman, and the protagonist’s quest to find the truth. 

But on top of that, the film itself is a wonderful depiction/exploration into the three stages of woman: the maiden, the mother, and the crone. Rachel, Megan, and Anna (Rebecca Ferguson) are the three women whose lives have been interlocked and whilst each is a tragic character in their own way, collectively they are the stages of woman personified. Blonde and promiscuous Megan is the maiden: young and at the peak of vitality, Anna is the literal mother: Rachel’s ex’s wife and mother to their child, and Rachel is the crone: the woman who is past the prime of life, feeble, fraying, and broken. All the female characters harshly compliment one another in this movie and the casting is spot on! 

Emily Blunt as the blotchy-faced, dry-lipped, gauzy-eyed, and slurry-worded Rachel is marvellous: a portrait of a woman drowning. Her performance is amazing because on one hand we do root for her and feel intense sympathy for her, but at the same time we are repelled by her self-induced pain and stupor and would like nothing more than to smack some sense into her. 

Everything about the movie is near to perfect, except for one largish flaw. I believe that thrillers are the filmic equivalents of tightrope walking. They travel along a fine line and only the very strongest are able to keep themselves upright the entire time. The big reveal of The Girl on the Train, hitting us early within the third act, causes the film to lose its balance a little. 

The reveal is massive and the way that the film has been set up in its jagged character chapters actually manages to completely conceal any intimation as to who the culprit is so the revelation really hits us, but the problem then lies in having to cram a large portion of the third act with rewritten history for the character in a bombarding montage of flashbacks. Whilst there is nothing wrong with the way this is done, it all happens really fast and the audience is continually hit over the head with truth bomb after truth bomb, completely changing the pace of the movie up to that point. 

Having said that, that’s the only problem this movie has and I would highly recommend that you all go and see it. The Girl on the Train is a classic modern thriller well within the company of Gone Girl or any Hitchcock classic. 

Starring: Emily Blunt, Haley Bennett, Rebecca Ferguson, Justin Theroux, Luke Evans, Edgar Ramirez, Laura Prepon, Darren Goldstein, Lisa Kudrow, and Allison Janney. 

Rating: MA.