The Girl on the Train

“Yesss! We are out of the end of summer doldrums and starting to hit that boost of dark thrillers that will lead us into award season. And with that is one of the first movies of the end of the year that I was really truly psyched for. From the time the book came out until the time the movie was released, all I’d hear was positive comparisons to Gone Girl. Yes please! Okay so it turns out Gone Girl was better, but that’s a very high bar to clear. We’ll get to that.

First, the quick recap. Emily Blunt is the titular girl, Rachel, who rides the train every day drinking vodka from her water bottle and staring at a young and in love couple from her window. When the young woman goes missing, Rachel finds herself caught up in the drama, and her involvement may go even deeper than she realizes.

It was dark and suspenseful and pretty much what I was hoping for on that front. The best delivered promise was Blunt’s performance, a career best. And I just love that such a mess of a woman can be a lead character. Us gals are just as complicated and as interesting as the boys, and this showcased the shadier side of the street in that regard.

Okay so my issues with the film were twofold. The first being the pacing, put me right to sleep. Sure, I was there slightly later than ideal, but I think things could have moved along a bit better, which leads us into point two. I solved it too quickly. A clue that was framed as a twist ended up pointing right to the answer, at which point, I lost some interest. There were some other cool twists and turns, but not to Gone Girl’s level.

So maybe the film wasn’t perfect, but I’m glad that it highlighted women who also aren’t. I think it’s still a step in the right direction for film, and accomplishes far more than half of the less memorable crap we’ve (I’ve) been seeing this year.

The Girl on the Train – \m/ \m/ \m/ \n”

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