'The Girl On The Train' Makes Several Stops

By Darlene Donloe

The Girl On the Train, in theaters nationwide on Friday, Oct. 7, is one of the most highly anticipated movies of the season.

The thriller is based on the incredibly popular novel by Paula Hawkins.  

The story is about Rachel, played by an engaging Emily Blunt. Rachel got problems. Lots of problems. Rachel is an alcoholic. She’s an alcoholic who drinks so much she regularly has blackouts, forgetting everything she’s done. Still spinning from her recent divorce, she spends her days going back and forth on a train – fantasizing about a couple (Luke Evans and Haley Bennett) that lives in a house her train passes every day.

One day she sees something shocking. When the woman she’s been watching comes up missing, Rachel, for some strange reason only she can understand, decides to investigate. With nothing else to do she somehow becomes entangled in the mystery that unfolds. 

Emily Blunt

But that’s not all. She still has an obsession with the home she used to share with her husband (Justin Theroux). She is also  fixated on his new wife (Rebecca Ferguson) and baby.

Full disclosure.  I didn’t read the book. Full disclosure. I found some of the movie painfully slow.  There are, however, some great performances, especially from Blunt, who is literally drunk, high or incredibly sad through the entire film.

I found some of the narrative ridiculous. I found some of the scenes far-fetched and too nonsensical to pay homage to the story. Unfortunately, the thriller factor never really materialized.

On several occasions I found myself saying, “That wouldn’t happen. Why would she do that?”  One time would have been ok. But to say it at least three times is a bit much.   I can’t reveal the moments without ruining the film.

Is the film worth the price of admission?  Yes. Tate Taylor, who directed the film, has put together an interesting movie. It jumps back and forth between present day and the past. It jumps a lot. Taylor uses voiceover and various camera techniques to produce a sense of terror and mystery. Some of it works, some of it doesn’t

The Girl On The Train (based on the bestselling novel by Paula Hawkins), is directed by Tate Taylor (The Help, Get On Up), written by Erin Cressida Wilson and stars Emily Blunt, Rebecca Ferguson, Haley Bennett, Justin Theroux, Luke Evans, Allison Janney, Edgar Ramirez, Lisa Kudrow and Laura Prepon.

On the DONLOE SCALE:  D (don’t bother), O (oh, no), N (needs work), L (likeable), O (oh, yeah) and E (excellent), The Girl On The Train (DreamWorks Pictures) gets an O (oh, yeah).