If a novel becomes a phenomenon, it's de rigueur now that it must be adapted into a film. It seems like an easy bet with studios - take an entity with an already established fan base and make a movie, watch them flock to the theater and count the box office receipts. "The Girl on the Train" is the latest film to try and equate book sales into tickets.
Director Tate Taylor ("The Help" and the massively underappreciated "Get on Up") and screenwriter Erin Cressida Wilson adapt Paula Hawkins' best-selling book with moderate success. Rarely are there movie adaptations that keep the original source material so close.
Emily Blunt stars as the titular girl, Rachel, who is a bit of a mess. Her husband, Tom (Justin Theroux) left her for Anna (Rebecca Ferguson) and she hasn't been able to move past that. She spends her days guzzling vodka on a train back and forth to New York City because she lost her job but wants to keep the allusion that she still has a successful career in public relations.
Every day, Rachel passes the home of Megan (Haley Bennett) and her husband Scott (Luke Evans) and has become infatuated with them. She constantly paints a portrait in her mind of what their life must be like. They live three houses down from where Rachel and Tom used to live (Tom still does with his new family). Rachel's obsession with her previous street and neighbors makes her a potential witness when Detective Riley (Allison Janney) shows up at her house, informing her that Megan has gone missing. But how reliable can Rachel be when she's never sober and seemingly unhinged?
As an actress, Blunt continues to challenge herself and "The Girl on the Train" gives her a chance to sink her teeth into a meaty role. After reading the book, I knew that the actress who was cast in the inevitable film adaptation was going to give the performance of her career. Blunt does that here as Rachel. She's sad and lonely, having pushed everyone away because she is rarely sober but we still feel for Rachel. Blunt is able to find great room to flex within all of Rachel's layers.
The novel "The Girl on the Train" was never high literature, but a fun page-turner. The movie, while faithful to the overall storyline, doesn't really have the same forward momentum as it did on the page. Taylor creates a more heavy-handed and bleak atmosphere, where Hawkins simply wrote an entertaining whodunit. She definitely included some heavy themes and Taylor revels in them a bit too much with intense close-ups of Rachel's world-weary face.
"The Girl on the Train" is entertaining but the book was a much crazier ride. There have been plenty of movie adaptions where I knew the outcome because I read the source material but was still riveted by the film. If Taylor had been as faithful to the tone as the narrative, "The Girl on the Train" could have been a much stronger film but it's still worth seeing if you are a fan of Hawkins' original vision.
| Movie title | The Girl on the Train |
|---|---|
| Release year | 2016 |
| MPAA Rating | R |
| Our rating | |
| Summary | "The Girl on the Train" is a modestly entertaining and faithful adaptation of Paul Hawkins' best-selling novel. |
