The Girl on the Train

I have not read the book, nor knew the story, so this is just a review of the film as a stand alone piece. I found the characters pretty one-dimensional, especially the male ones, who seemed more like eye-candy than believable human beings. Emily Blunt is a fine actress, but she seems saddled with trying to inject pathos into a character who ping-pongs around in a very Hollywood-lite depiction of alcoholism. Instead a glazed detachment covers everything and whilst this may suit the voyeuristic parts of the story, it just left me finding it hard to fully engage with, or become attached to, the characters. People simply do not behave or talk in this way. The only exception is with the portrayal of Anna, who carries some semblance of normal behaviour and engagement. Perhaps what was compulsive in the novel has been lost in translation, or perhaps the film exposes the weaknesses of the characterisation and plot that were there all along.

Far better film than the ratings suggest. A bit of a slow burner to begin with but stay with it, it becomes engrossing. Emily's performance is quite stunning and magnetic as her character comes away from her own "la la land" to understand the injustice and horror of her what, she believes, she has done! All the victims, and they are (mostly) victims are believable and are worth of your sympathy, empathy and compassion as the story draws out and flashes back to reveal the dark past. The location is perfect yet NYC doesn't detract from the human element - in fact, the portrayal of residents of the Big Apple is more tender than I've seen in many a film.

There was too much dialogue from the prospective of the lead character. If you like your story told this way, then the first half of the film will suit you. I started to get bored because I did not feel any empathy with the lead character. So for me the first half of the film was wasted. The second half of the film was much more enjoyable as I could see a pattern emerging, and the different characters interlinking with each other. I think this film would have been classed as a B movie when I was younger, but I did enjoy the twist at the end.