Cast overview, first billed only: | |||
Emily Blunt | ... | ||
Haley Bennett | ... | ||
Rebecca Ferguson | ... | ||
Justin Theroux | ... | ||
Luke Evans | ... | ||
Edgar Ramírez | ... |
Dr. Kamal Abdic
(as Édgar Ramírez)
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Laura Prepon | ... |
Cathy
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Allison Janney | ... |
Detective Riley
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Darren Goldstein | ... |
Man in the Suit
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Lisa Kudrow | ... |
Martha
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Cleta Elaine Ellington | ... |
Oyster Bar Woman
(as Cleta E. Ellington)
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Lana Young | ... |
Doctor
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Rachel Christopher | ... |
Woman with Child
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Fernando Medina | ... |
Pool Player
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Gregory Morley | ... |
Officer Pete
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The Girl on the Train is the story of Rachel Watson's life post-divorce. Every day, she takes the train in to work in New York, and every day the train passes by her old house. The house she lived in with her husband, who still lives there, with his new wife and child. As she attempts to not focus on her pain, she starts watching a couple who live a few houses down -- Megan and Scott Hipwell. She creates a wonderful dream life for them in her head, about how they are a perfect happy family. And then one day, as the train passes, she sees something shocking, filling her with rage. The next day, she wakes up with a horrible hangover, various wounds and bruises, and no memory of the night before. She has only a feeling: something bad happened. Then come the TV reports: Megan Hipwell is missing. Rachel becomes invested in the case and trying to find out what happened to Megan, where she is, and what exactly she herself was up to that same night Megan went missing.
First off, I will admit that I've not read the bestselling book that The Girl on the Train is based on so my thoughts are based purely on the movie adaptation.
I usually love a fast paced thriller with twists and turns to keep me metaphorically on the edge of cinema seat. The trailers had led me to believe this might be the case for The Girl on the Train. How wrong I was.
The screenplay and direction were often sloppy while the editing was so messy it often felt like scenes were pieced together purely at random. I really struggled to warm to or identify with any of the characters in a film where all men are portrayed as controlling and deplorable and any sense of female empowerment is lost amidst the absurdity of the relentlessly twisting plot.
I have to call out Emily Blunt's stunning lead performance - she steals every scene she's in with a nuanced, conflicted and honest portrayal of a complex and intriguing character. Quality support performances from Luke Evans and Haley Bennet help but don't save the movie and most other characters are so slight and one-dimensional that they fade into the background.
The Girl on the Train felt like Gone Girl without the tension, emotion or drama.
5/10