The Girl on the Train Review

The Girl on the Train Review – Jack Fitzpatrick

So let me start off by saying that I did in-fact read the overwhelmingly popular novel that the movie is based on prior to seeing it… *Ahem… Half the book… And it was… Good?

Look… I didn’t stop reading it because it was ‘terrible.’ But I will say that it never really ‘grabbed me.’ But perhaps this was personal. Perhaps it was due to a lack of connection that I just didn’t really have because of how little I related to each character… Or perhaps it just simply wasn’t written with someone like me in mind. But either way there was just something disallowing me to sink in to the book’s grasp. Something lacking. Something that maybe the film version could advance on…

So did the film do any better?

“The Girl on the Train” tells the story of… uh well… A girl… on a train. In all honesty though, it obviously goes much deeper than that. Basically though, the film is about a woman who goes missing, and thus the mystery behind this as well as how it affects the people around her.

Throughout the movie we follow a few different characters, all who could be considered the protagonists, (One of which is NOT played by Jennifer Lawrence!) But most prominently we’re shown the titular character; The ‘girl on the train’ herself, Rachel who is played by Emily Blunt. To put simply; Rachel comes off as pretty pathetic. The film establishes her as a woman who continuously rides the train from the suburbs to the city every day with little purpose or direction. She’d lost her job a while back, along with her husband and along with him, her house. This leaves her in a shitty situation, living with a roommate and ultimately leads to her alcoholism. And I really appreciated the film’s unapologetic ability to present us with extremely flawed characters such as her.

So it’s easy to say that Rachel as a character, is generally a sad person. We as an audience pity her. And to be honest I found this surprisingly refreshing. She was far from perfect, and she wasn’t even particularly likable or too redeeming. She was struggling. She wasn’t the ‘hero’ of the story and she was even at times frustrating. And maybe because of this, I’d Personally have to say that this character is probably one of the films’ best assets. Blunt does a notably good job portraying a failing alcoholic ‘tumbling down the rabbit hole’ as she gets mixed up in this missing persons’ case due to her intense obsession with the personas of people around her.

Pictured; Boring GuyThe catch is though, that along with this character comes an array of… Ok characters. Nobody else ever comes off quite as interesting as her and all play sort of personality lacking roles. Some of the characters here don’t come off as natural. Rather some seem to only exist with the purpose of telling the story – Now this is obviously what all fictional characters are for… But it’s a stories job to disguise it – “The Girl on the Train” sometimes doesn’t. At times, some of the characters can feel quite artificial and I didn’t always particularly buy it. I’d say this is most noticeable when it comes to the police detective who gets only a small part in this film. It’s not the worst cinematic sin in the world and can be somewhat forgiven due to the fact that it is brief, however this character falls under the flaw of which many police procedural shows do; They’re just there to be the ‘detective.’ And nothing more. This can sometimes be seen in the other characters who play bigger roles in the story too though.

Another mentionable thing about the film and these characters is that this is the type of movie where it all relies heavily on the ‘mystery.’ It can even be considered somewhat of a ‘whodunit.’ The thing is though, like many other films in this vein – There are only about 4, maybe 5 suspects. In the end there are about 6 main characters’ total. And soon enough, the story soon connects every single one of them until the idea of coincidence simply becomes absurd. They’re like the Skywalkers of the “Girl on the Train’ universe in which everybody is part of the story and nothing is left up to luck or chance – Everything is *a little too perfect.

Look at this smug bastard. Looking all perfect and whatnot.Something that I really have to mention about the film is just how sad and dark it is. Undoubtedly though, this was obviously done with intent. The films’ tone and atmosphere is supposed to be this way, and it does succeed in this way. However so much so, that in some ways it really does just lack any hint of joy. There is little relief and absolutely nothing is played for laughs. This is a film that takes itself perhaps a little too seriously where it could have used interjecting some fun, via dark humor or the like here and there.

“The Girl on the Train” is very much in the same vein of the ‘not-so-long-ago’ hit; “Gone Girl” in terms of both story and tone, however never even hits the same ballpark; This film is no “Gone Girl.” It takes the general ideas and feelings but includes none of the speciality. None of the heart, the humor or the cleverness.

Rather, “The Girl on the Train” could instead at times unfortunately feel a bit more like a soap opera than a David Fincher film. Due to its extreme dramatic foundations and the fact that it seems to exist in this clichéd fictional world of Hollywood’s where American Housewives stay around at home while their husbands go off to work and everything is either perfect all the time and if not, then the complete opposite.

BUT… I still did like the movie. I’ve read some of the initial reviews and so far, they are arguably quite harsh. It certainly has its problems but I’d still say that this was actually a fairly well done film… The way its structured via first person written entries and unreliable narrators makes for a particular story that isn’t quite made for film. Whether I’m a fan or not, I think it works better as a book. Like all adapting from book to film, the nuanced details are missing, as is the first person perspective; It does its best but it just cannot be done in the same way through this medium. I still however appreciated the unique structure of the film. Told in a non-linear order not unlike things like “Pulp Fiction” or (my favorite movie of all time) “500 Days of Summer.”

In this way it did manage to keep the movie a little more interesting. Predictable or not (I’d argue not, but have read other opinions) “The Girl on the Train’s” mystery was intriguing and there is something about everything ever unfolding before you that is just undeniably satisfying. And as this is occurring the film also presents us with many, many moments of subtle tension. “The Girl on the Train” is one film that definitely proves that you do not need a shouting match or physical conflict to portray intensity. But rather, a slowly building conversation between two characters can – if done right – suffice. Perhaps the catalyst for the intensity happens to be a secret kept between these characters, one of which is slowly coming to the surface as a scene goes on. After seeing this film, I can safely say that “The Girl on the Train” uses things such as this often and I’d say well; Not everything needed to be over the top.

Another strong asset to the film is that it’s all shot with this sort of elegance. It’s not flashy or arrogant about it, but we as an audience are constantly presented with slow but articulately put together shots which are all covered in a hint of visual darkness, as well as a mostly blue-tinted palette, suitably fitting the film with a certain feel of visual coldness. It’s a nice looking film – even if it’s subject matter itself isn’t. The style and direction never comes off as amateurish in any sense of the word, however I must once again compare it to “Gone Girl” and say that it still isn’t even coming close.

“The Girl on the Train” is at times boring and at times melodramatic. However overall it tells an intriguing mystery which is enjoyable enough to want to see where it is headed. It’s quite a saddening film, however intentionally so and is successful in this approach. Emily Blunt does an impressive job playing a wreck of a woman, and NOT Jennifer Lawrence – as well as the rest of the cast – all do respectable enough jobs with what they’re given – though at times come off as a little un-naturalistic. Despite its flaws, “The Girl on the Train” is clever enough to keep you watching and is far from the worst thing you could spend a couple of hours doing.

7.75/10