jon_margetts
A range of identikit characters in too-similar suburban houses, stultifying dialogue, and a lack of regard for basic screenplay make for an egregiously confusing film.
larynaelliott
I had a feeling I would like this movie after viewing the trailer. In fact, I thought I knew exactly how it would go after seeing the trailer for it. I was VERY wrong.
So many twists and turns, and a completely unexpected ending. The Girl on the Train reminded me a bit of Gone Girl. If you're like me, you won't know what to think of any of the six main characters until the very end- everything you think you know can (and will) change at a moments' notice!
paulclaassen
There's a lot here that doesn't make sense, in particular the reason for the girl being on the train. She has absolutely no reason for being on the train, as she is unemployed, yet still takes the train DAILY to nowhere, just to drive past her old house. The film never explores what she does from the time she takes the train in the morning until she takes it again in the afternoon. It is therefore just not credible. The entire film is also very somber and dreary, as there is never really a happy moment. Quite depressing, actually. It has a good twist, though, and a very good cast.
Neil Welch
If you watch the trailer you will be shown that this film is about a woman who sees certain events from a train and is possibly implicated in a mysterious disappearance. And I'm not going to tell you any more than the trailer does.I tend to open my reviews with a synopsis of the film in question. In the case of The Girl On A Train (adapted from a bestseller which I haven't read) I'm not going to do that, because I wouldn't want to deprive anyone of the experience I enjoyed, namely the unusual and well-crafted way in which this story was told. Providing a synopsis would damage that experience because it would inevitably entail revealing details which would ruin the way those details are revealed in the film.I have a fascination with storytelling. Most stories have some form of exposition dump in their early stages, whereby the reader/viewer is provided with information they need before the plot can get under way. The plot then unfolds before arriving at a resolution of some sort. In this film, however, we are initially provided with character studies of the main characters. These include expository details, of course but this is almost secondary. The film appears more concerned with creating mood and atmosphere, much of which is calculated to make us ask questions rather than simply supplying us with information. Information is provided, of course, but subtly, and in dribs and drabs.The characters are all well conceived to discharge their functions in the plot (the plot proper doesn't really start until nearly halfway through the film) yet the character traits and the connections between the characters are all natural and believable. For instance, each of the three principal characters has issues concerning childbirth: all are appropriate, relevant and credible, and all drive the plot.Thinking about this film as Story reveals how well-crafted it is, but you don't have to do that. Just enjoying the experience of having the story gradually reveal itself is perfectly sufficient.I don't normally care much for Emily Blunt, but she is wonderful in this. The rest of the cast is good, but she is exceptional.
AD
