The novels have been a source of inspiration for the cinema since shortly after his birth. Fashions come and go, but literature persists as the origin of films of all kinds, from masterpieces to real disasters. All this is due to the readers, since it is normal that the producers fix their attention on books that have destroyed sales, whatever their actual level. In the case of The Girl on the Train, it was not even two years after its publication for her film adaptation.

Source <<

Year: 2016 Category: Mystery, Thriller, Drama. Director: Tate Taylor Cast: Emily Blunt, Rebecca Ferguson, Justin Theroux, Haley Bennett, Luke Evans, Allison Janney, Édgar Ramírez, Lisa Kudrow.

Plot

The film begins with the newly divorced Rachel Watson on a train that takes every day on the way to work. On that trip, Rachel goes through her old house, the house where her husband lived with a new partner and their son, which keeps alive the pain that she just wants to forget. Rachel begins to notice a couple who lives a few houses beyond, Megan and Scott Hipwell, a marriage that she imagines happy, until one day witnesses a shocking event from the window of the train, something that leaves her impacted and fills her of rage. The next day he wakes up, without memories of the previous night, before the disappearance of Megan and decides to get down to work to discover what happened in those hours of which he has no memory and what relationship she has with what has happened to Megan .

Opinion

It is clear that one of the great attractions of many suspense films is to solve the mystery raised. It is still a necessary game to capture the interest of the viewer, who, depending on the case, will focus on trying to be the smartest of the class or simply letting himself go and accepting everything the film wants to sell him. There are many intermediate stages between both options, but in the end it is the fascination capacity of the story itself that plays a fundamental role for it.

In the film we have a crime in which it is insinuating at all times with the possibility that the protagonist is responsible for it. His unfortunate state, both physical and, above all, psychological, all perfectly reflected by an Emily Blunt who may not respond to the description of the character in the novel, something that compensates by immersing himself fully in the problematic personality of Rachel.

However, of course everything has to be more complicated than it seems and that's where the problems come from, since all the plots parallel to the one of the protagonist are monotonous of entrances, they lack any kind of brightness in their development - neither they never try too hard to give them the necessary entity - and there comes a point at which they fall more or less sharply into ridicule. Blunt does what he can to compensate, but it's not enough.

The narrative tries to give us three different points of view, that of the three women who make up the story (Rachel, Megan and Anna), dotted with continuous jumps back in time that distract attention, are confusing, and instead of creating suspense alone it slows down the action, the events are slowly revealed without generating enough tension to get us surprised.

In general it is too artificial, something that does not help with the end that occurs in a clumsy and hasty manner. Although the characters are not deep enough, it must be said that Emily Blunt acts very well as this depressed, alcoholic, and lost in her own confusion. Haley Bennett and Rebecca Ferguson complete the trio protagonist, they are fine although they do not have much material to show off, one soon disappears from the scene and the other is too passive. We can see Allison Janney as the detective in charge of the case and in a couple of scenes to Laura Prepon and Lisa Kudrow. As for the male part, the characters are even more one-dimensional, so Justin Therou, Luke Evans and Edgar Ramirez do what they can. A story about addiction, loneliness, voyeurism, violence and sex that does not get excited despite the good work of its leading actresses.

The film is entertaining but it is still a fairly basic thriller. Emily Blunt plays a good role but there is something wrong. Maybe the music or the plans fail, but there are plenty of moments that should surprise us with surprise and that does not happen. I think an untapped opportunity of what could be a great movie.

Trailer

Score

6/10

I think you could have gotten more out of the story. I only recommend seeing it if you have read the novel, otherwise it is better to read the novel before. In any case, the film can be entertaining, good to see on a Sunday afternoon when you have nothing better to do.