The Girl on the Train

The Girl on the Train is more than just a mystery, it’s a mind game. It pulls you into the chaos of someone who’s lost control of her life and can’t tell what’s real anymore. Every scene keeps you questioning people’s motives, and the tension builds in a way that feels personal like you’ve been lied to right along with her. It’s also a raw look at how love can turn toxic, how someone can slowly twist your reality until you don’t even recognize yourself. That emotional part hits hard beneath all the suspense. Overall, it’s a dark, gripping story that messes with your head and the best part is, you won’t see the truth coming until it hits you. Solid 9.5/10 👏🏻

I had high hopes for this film... The book was good, and kept me on the edge of my seat at times... This move is a perfect example of poor directing, and an uninterested cast. At times it honestly felt as though the actors were reading lines from the book off of big white cue cards behind the camera. It was comical really... Don't even get me started on the sexual scenes. They were so poorly done, it made many people including myself laugh aloud in the theater. No attachment to any of the characters, and no development whatsoever. Really bad... And I am not saying, oh it was bad I didn't like how it didn't follow the book, it's just flat out bad. Even people who I was with who knew nothing about the book hated it. Don't bother.

Bitterly disappointing. It's the best way I could describe my feelings towards Tate Taylor's The Girl on the Train adaptation. A film so devoid of any imagination, life or characters worth caring for, this 100 minute thriller is one of 2016's biggest letdowns and the millions of fans of Paula Hawkin's popular (if somewhat polarising) book are likely to be left cold by this big budgeted wannabe Gone Girl. The comparisons to David Fincher's 2014 hit, that in many ways shares similarities to this tale of domestic (un)bliss, murder and intrigue were always going to be made and have been made by many in the lead up to Girl on the Train's release and now that we've been able to lay our eyes on Taylor's film, it pales in every department. Core to the failures when comparing the films is in both the tales characters who were interesting in Gone Girl and uninvolving here in Train while the most important aspect of a thriller of this nature being the mystery that draws us into the murky world is quite sadly bereft here as around 30 – 40 minutes from the films conclusion Taylor has played his reveal card far too early as any chance we had of being under illusion as who is who is taken away and the films rather grizzly final stanza feels worse off for it, despite the best efforts of the films talented and underused cast. Looking worse for wear and giving her all, Emily Blunt tries desperately to elevate the film around her in her portrayal of hard drinking and divorced Rachel who is our films focus but despite her commitment and dedication Rachel is not an overly appealing character and remains hard to watch for most of the films runtime. It's a great showcase for Blunt's continual work to push herself as an actress but surrounded by the miscast Justin Theroux and Luke Evans and the misused Haley Bennett, Girl on the Train ends up delivering one of the years great crimes against talented cast members. At the end of the day there's not much more to say about Girl on the Train other than the fact this is a real non-event and an event that could've easily become the years big breakout thriller. So uninspired and against all the odds boring, Tate Taylor's film is not even worthy to be mentioned in the same sentence as Gone Girl or even other lesser thrillers of similar ilk, so disappointing for all who were involved in this "could've been" film. This is one train you can afford to miss. 1 sippy cup out of 5

I don't usually watch mystery thriller dramas - I generally only go to big budget action movies. I knew next to nothing going in about what this movie was about, which is probably the best way to go into this movie (so in this review I'm not going to discuss the plot at all, just how I felt about the movie - it's better this way). I knew Emily Blunt was in the movie and that it was based on a novel and that's really about this it. Despite all this, I actually liked this movie. Who hasn't observed strangers from a distance and imagined our own life stories for them? What if we got lost in our own imagined thoughts and turned them into a dangerous obsession? It's an interesting premise on which to base a story. The movie kept me guessing; it wasn't predictable. It had me feeling disturbed, engaged, sad, and cringing at the unfolding events. I guess this is exactly what you'd want from a mystery thriller.

For a couple of months now , I have been seeing the trailer, of this film ..... And I was looking forward, to finally seeing it ! So, last night , a friend and I , had the misfortune of viewing ,The Girl on the Train ... To tell the truth , I've seen better mysteries on "Murder She Wrote " reruns !! Pathetic characters , nasty sex , thrown in every couple of minutes , and I for one, am SO sick of F this F that , every other word ! Personally , my contemporaries, and I do not use trashy language ,and we are sick of vulgar conversation ,in this and other films ,of recent years !, I guess next time ,I'll just stay home and watch TCM !! Great movies , with great plots , great actors and NO trash !! I seriously, would have left after the 1rst 45 min. , if I would have been alone !, Oh , and by the way , I would give this film an X rating ! May appeal to some .... But , no one that I know !!

"The Girl on a Train" is the film adaptation of the best-seller by Paula Hawkins, transported from the London suburbs to New York's Hastings-on- Hudson. It's actually rather a sordid story encompassing as it does alcoholism, murder, marital strife, deceit, sexual frustration, an historical tragedy and lashings and lashings of violence. Emily Blunt ("Sicario", "Edge of Tomorrow") plays Rachel, a divorcée with an alcohol problem who escapes into an obsessive fantasy each day as she passes her former neighbourhood on her commute into the city. Ex-husband Tom (Justin Theroux, "Zoolander 2") lives in her old house with his second wife Anna (Rebecca "MI:5" Ferguson) and new baby Evie. But her real fantasy rests with cheerleader- style young neighbour Megan (Haley Bennett) who is actually locked in a frustratingly child-free marriage (frustrating for him at least) with the controlling and unpredictable Scott (Luke Evans, "The Hobbit"). A sixth party in this complex network is Megan's psychiatrist Dr Kamal Abdic (Édgar Ramírez, "Joy"). In pure Hitchcockian style Megan witnesses mere glimpses of events from her twice-daily train and from these pieces together stories that suitably feed her psychosis. When 'shit gets real' and a key character goes missing, Megan surfaces her suspicions and obsessions to the police investigation (led by Detective Riley, the ever-excellent Allison Janney from "The West Wing") and promptly makes herself suspect number one. Readers of the book will already be aware of the twists and turns of the story, so will watch the film from a different perspective than I did. (Despite my best intentions I never managed to read the book first). First up, you would have to say that Emily Blunt's performance is outstanding in an extremely challenging acting role. Every nuance of shame, confusion, grief, fear, doubt and anger is beautifully enacted: it would not be a surprise to see her gain her first Oscar nomination for this. All the other lead roles are also delivered with great professionalism, with Haley Bennett (a busy month for her, with "The Magnificent Seven" also out) being impressive and Rebecca Ferguson, one of my favourite current actresses, delivering another measured and delicate performance. The supporting roles are also effective, with Darren Goldstein as the somewhat creepy "man in the suit" and "Friends" star Lisa Kudrow popping up in an effective and pivotal role. The Screen Guild Awards have an excellent category for an Ensemble Cast in a Motion Picture, and it feels appropriate to nominate this cast for that award. So it's a blockbuster book with a roller-coaster story and a stellar cast, so what could go wrong? Well, something for sure. This is a case in point where I suspect it is easier to slowly peel back Rachel's lost memory with pages and imagination than it is with dodgy fuzzy images on a big screen. Although the film comes in at only 112 minutes, the pacing in places is too slow (the screenplay by Erin Cressida Wilson takes its time) and director Tate Taylor ("The Help") is no Hitchcock, or indeed a David Fincher (since the film has strong similarities to last year's "Gone Girl": when the action does happen it lacks style, with the violence being on the brutal side and leaving little to the imagination. It's by no means a bad film, and worth seeing for the acting performances alone. But it's not a film I think that will trouble my top 10 for the year. (Agree? Disagree? For the graphical version of this review and to comment please visit bob-the-movie-man.com. Thanks.)