The Girl On The Train: "I Saw Her, I Saw Her From The Train"

Director: Tate Taylor
Writer:     Erin Cressida Wilson
Starring: Emily Blunt
                Justin Theroux
                Haley Bennett
                Rebecca Ferguson
                Luke Evans
                Allison Janney
                Edgar Ramirez
                Lisa Kudrow
Rating:    *****

Release Date: Out Now 

It's no secret that I am not a big reader, so I am not sharing my views on this film from the same perspective as someone who has read the book of the same name. I don't know if it stuck to the source material exactly or if they have made it better or worse than people expected (though I do know the book is set in England), all I know is how much I enjoyed it and how intense it is from start to finish.

Justin Theroux & Emily Blunt
Rachel Watson (Blunt) travels everyday by train to her job in Manhatten, and each day her train travels passed her old house. She lived a tumultuous life in that house with her husband, Tom (Theroux), and he still lives there with his once mistress and current partner, Anna (Ferguson). To distract from her ongoing pain Rachel drinks, but also becomes fixated on another couple she sees a few doors down from her ex-husband, Megan and Scott (Bennett & Evans). Rachel conjures up the idea that they are the perfect couple and creates a dream life for them in her own mind. This dream is shattered when she sees Megan supposedly cheating on her husband, and this sends Rachel into a rage. 

Waking the next day with a terrible hangover, heavy bruising and no recollection of the nights events, all Rachel can truly say is she feels something bad must have happened. When she eventually finds out that Megan has gone missing and a detective (Janney) starts to question her whereabouts that night, Rachel must try her best to put together the hazy puzzle pieces to clear her name and find the truth behind Megan's disappearence.

Rebecca Ferguson
From the moment I first saw the trailer for The Girl on the Train, I was excited. It looked like a brilliant thriller with what looked like some powerhouse performances. Well, I was not disappointed. This is potentially the performance of Emily Blunt's career; it is raw, intense, full out and unforgiving. Blunt puts her every fibre into creating Rachel, and it is that portrayal that drives the film and keeps the levels of tension at a tremendous height. It also means that in order for her co-stars to not get left behind, they too must pull they're everything out of the bag, which they do.

Justin Theroux and Luke Evans are intense and moody, with Theroux creating a multi-layered and cold character that slowly unravels as the story unfolds. The film starts with you having a certain idea of who he is, and then by the end your perception is completely altered, and his peformance and the superb script and direction all helped towards that. Rebecca Ferguson truly comes into her own during the films final act, showing a strong and powerful side to her fairly one-dimensional character at the perfect moment in the story. The same also goes for Haley Bennet who you sympathise for at the same time as disliking her; so much about her character should be unlikable, but it is the characters around her that changer how the audience sees her; another clear sign of the actors superb ensemble work.

Haley Bennett
The script kept me guessing from beginning to the final reveal, and I genuinely suspected various different people throughout the film. Erin Cressida Wilson has written a perfect script for this type of film, with the pace being fast, exciting and disorientating; allowing you to truly feel how Rachel is feeling. The exact same is can be said for Tate Taylor's direction. It is a dizzying film that uses quick flashbacks and clever optical tricks to keep the audience engaged and guessing throughout. There is never a dull moment within the film, and it is clear that all involved have taken great care to achieve a film that is close to pure perfection.

The Girl on the Train - Trailer 

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