OCTOBER 12, 2016
I have been known to patronize a Starbucks or two now and then, and last year, whenever I would bring my coffee out to the patio, I would notice, amid the sea of laptops, a few people actually reading books. By far the book that I saw most often was Paula Hawkins’ “The Girl on the Train,” a title that was totally unfamiliar to me. I researched it and was surprised that it was a recurrent resident on The New York Times’ bestseller list, but when I saw what it was about, I thought I would wait for the movie to check it out.
Well, the movie is in theaters now, and I’ve checked it out.
The girl is Rachel (Emily Blunt), who commutes on the train every day from her apartment to New York City and back again. Each way, she finds a seat that gives her a clear view of two specific houses, in one of which she used to live with her husband Tom (Justin Theroux). Rachel’s alcoholism split the marriage apart, and Tom began an affair with real estate agent Anna (Rebecca Ferguson), and when Rachel’s alcoholic rages became too much for him, Tom ended the marriage and Anna moved in. Every day as she passes, Rachel appears to be fixated on the life she threw away.
The second neighboring house is owned by Scott (Luke Evans) and Megan Hipwell (Haley Bennett of “The Magnificent Seven”), and when a passing Rachel sees them making out on their back patio, she idealizes them as the couple with the kind of perfect marriage that she had always dreamed of. Her obsession gets to the point that one day she decides to get off the train and insert herself into their lives. Uh-oh.
If this suburban domestic craziness sounds familiar, yes, “The Girl on the Train” is very “Gone Girl.” It takes place in the same milieu, and one of the main characters also goes missing. But you have to remember that the film of “Gone Girl” was directed by David Fincher, a master filmmaker who brings out the tension in every scene he takes on. “The Girl on the Train” is directed by the man who made “The Help.” Now I’m a big fan of “The Help,” but that film was right in director Tate Taylor’s wheelhouse. Let us just say that, for Taylor, suspense films are not.
But that’s not the least of the film’s problems. I hate to harp on casting because I know a film depends on stars, but Theroux, Ferguson, Evans and Bennett are so incredibly good looking that they seem to live in Modelville USA. Seriously, their surface beauty takes away from the relatability of the characters — though they are all good actors, here their looks get in the way of us believing the situation. Not to mention Megan’s ridiculously handsome therapist (Édgar Ramírez). So when Allison Janney shows up halfway through as a cop, I breathed a sigh of relief — “Finally, a real person!”
The not very good script is by Erin Cressida Wilson, who relies upon voice-over for much of the first part of the film (not my favorite device) and when it gets to actual dialogue, there was no moment when I thought, “Yeah, that really worked.” Granted, Hawkins’ book is not the greatest source material — the mystery is meh, and when Rachel is set up as the suspect early on, it’s not that difficult to figure out who the real culprit is.
Just a note. These characters are idiots. If you’re going to conduct an affair, you don’t take the time to make out outdoors on a deck. Especially when there’s a passing train going by in your backyard. Imbiciles.
The only real reason to see “The Girl on the Train” (and it’s a strong one) is Emily Blunt. When she first appeared in “The Devil Wears Prada,” our collective national reaction was “Who’s THIS??!!” Though hilarious, she really showed us the depth to that character, and in the years since, whenever she has appeared in a good film, such as “Edge of Tomorrow,” “Into the Woods” and last year’s extraordinary “Sicario,” she has dazzled. Even when the material is in films not nearly up to that quality (such as “The Girl on the Train”), Blunt tackles it head-on and here handles the alcoholism scenes subtly but very very believably.
“The Girl on the Train” is one of those films that, if you’re set on seeing it, you’re going to go anyway. But if you’re on the fence, stay home and read a book. As long as that book isn’t “The Girl on the Train.”
GRADE: C
