THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN REVIEW

*MAY CONTAIN SPOILERS*

Based on one of the best-selling books of 2015, The Girl On The Train was definitely one of the most anticipated films of this year.  The book, which was written by Paula Hawkins and published in January last year, was gripping and full of suspense. Fortunately, the film, which was directed by Tate Taylor, is just as good at its source, in my opinion. I think that people who have read the book will enjoy the film more. I read the book last month and I couldn't put it down. A lot of films aren't faithful to the book it's based on but this film is a great adaptation of Hawkin's best-seller and it was better than what I expected the film to be.

The film begins with Rachel (Emily Blunt) narrating and describing her life. We clearly see straight away, thanks to Blunt's brilliant performance, that she is a alcoholic and is obsessed with her old house. So much so that she takes the same train into and from New York every day and, when the train stops, she glances at her old home, which is now owned by her ex-husband, Tom (Justin Theroux), his new wife, Anna (Rebecca Ferguson) and their baby daughter, Evie. She soon becomes enthralled in the house two houses down and focuses on the couple who own that house, Megan (Haley Bennett) and Scott (Luke Evans). Rachel thinks that they're the perfect couple and the 'embodiment of true love'. However, on Friday morning, Rachel sees something at their house that she wasn't expecting to see and becomes angry with Megan. Suddenly, she wakes up the next morning with a hangover and no memory of the previous evening and she soon becomes wrapped up in Megan's mysterious disappearance and becomes determined to find out what happened to her.

This film features some of the best actors including Blunt who gives the best performance as the title character. She has stated in many interviews that she didn't want to portray Rachel as a 'likable' character but wanted audiences to feel sympathetic towards her and she succeeds. I felt sorry for Rachel immediately as I knew what she'd been through as I'd read the book and connected with her. 

Both Bennett and Ferguson give strong performances as the other two women. Bennett portrays Megan, the woman who is missing and, as the film goes on, we learn more about her including a personal tragedy. Ferguson is Anna who hates Rachel after she absent-mindedly took their baby. Everything she does is for the proctection of her marriage and baby and refuses to listen to Rachel's accusations.

Allison Janney, despite being in only a few scenes, is great as the stern police officer, Riley, who believes that Rachel may have something to do with Megan's disappearance. 

Theroux and Evans are the stand-out men of the film. Theroux, at first, portrays Tom as a husband who wants to do what's best for Anna and their daughter, however, in the final hour of the film, we see a completely different side to him. Evans plays Megan's husband, Scott, who we clearly see has anger issues which makes him a prime suspect. Edgar Ramirez is another suspect, Dr. Kamal Abdic, who was Megan's therapist.

Lisa Kudrow also gives a cameo as a woman who plays a small but important part in Rachel's discoveries.

I do think that the reason why the first reaction to the film is disappointing is because so many people were watching it hoping for something that's just as good as Gone Girl. The only similarities The Girl On The Train has with Gone Girl is that they're both mysteries. I'd say Gone Girl is a thriller and The Girl On A Train is more dramatic than thrilling but that doesn't mean that it isn't compelling. To be honest, I enjoyed this film more as I'd read the book and was already hooked on the film and the characters. 

Overall, with a stand-out performance from Emily Blunt and a gripping and mysterious narrative, The Girl On The Train is one of the most dramatic films I've watched this year.

7/10