‘The Girl On The Train’ Review, As Someone Who’s Read The Book

When a book becomes a movie, there’s always that hesitation — will it be what you envisioned? Will it include those moments you loved in the book? For ‘The Girl on the Train,’ many jumped to comparisons to ‘Gone Girl,’ but if you watch it without thinking that, you may not be so tough.

With an unlikable main character, Rachel Watson (Emily Blunt), The Girl on the Train shifts from her perspective to that of her ex-husband’s new wife, and Megan Hipwell, a woman who Rachel watches from the train and becomes obsessed with. Megan happens to live on the same street as her ex (Justin Theroux) and his new wife, Anna (Rebecca Ferguson), so it is easy for Rachel to watch everyone at once — and basically throw herself into their lives as if she’s already in, regardless of the fact that she’s not welcome.

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However, when she sees Megan (Haley Bennett) kissing a man that is not her husband, an inebriated Rachel becomes furious — and it leads to a night where she has no idea what happened, and how she ended up caked in blood. Anxious to solve a crime with no memory, Rachel is led into a deep hole blurry memories.

Let me start by saying that anyone who doubted Emily Blunt ever, was mistaken. Her performance blew me away — for a story where you really dislike most of the characters, you couldn’t help but feel the pain she felt. If you read the book, you know many different perspectives and time changes take place, which is the same in the movie so I’d imagine if you’re not aware of the narratives going in, it could get a bit confusing; the transition could have been better.

The twist, in my opinion, came more surprising on screen, as did the intensity of some of the more graphic scenes. Yes, it was still a thriller. It was slower than the book and hesitated a bit when it could have gone full speed ahead, but overall, I wasn’t as disgusted as other critics, and have to say that the actors who portrayed the characters with beautiful flaws, won me over.