‘The Girl on the Train’ Review

A collection of brilliant actors giving stunningly believable performances as characters locked in a confusing web of lies….. and Donna from ‘That 70’s Show’.

Of course, we have to begin with Emily Blunt, as she was just brilliant. I remember I first saw her in the ‘Devil Wears Prada’, I thought she was good but did not expect her to rise to the position that she has. She gave a convincing portrayal as an alcoholic, unstable, and seemingly obsessive ex-wife. She knows that something happened that Friday she blacked out, but what did she see and what did she do?

The male characters all had their own roles to play, Justin Theroux (ex-husband), Luke Evans (missing woman’s husband), and Edgar Ramirez (the shrink). All the actors in the film developed into credible suspects in the disappearance of Megan, played by Haley Bennett.

She gave the character an impressive combination of emotion and apathy, a difficult feat to pull off I imagine. A little bit of research has informed me that I first saw her in ‘Music & Lyrics’ in 2007. Since then she has been blowing up Hollywood and I expect we will see many more great performances from her in the future.

In terms of negative points, although the story kept me thinking and changing who I suspected throughout, by the time you have figured it out it feels as though the end is a little dragged out. It reminded me a little of the 2000 film ‘The Gift’; but rather than visions from clairvoyant Cate Blanchett, we see the visions of an alcoholic Emily Blunt. Finally, there wasn’t much room for character development in this film other than the balancing of Blunt’s mental and emotional state; however, I believe the story-line and the overall portrayal of characters as constants was more important in this kind of film.

Overall, I thought the plot was substantial with well placed flashbacks and restoration of memories. I reiterate the superb performances by all the actors involved, including supporting roles such as “The Man in the Suit”. I was pleasantly surprised when the film didn’t just blackout, but carried on to round off the story and leave any loose ends firmly tied. No cliffhangers begging a sequel in this case!!

Also, Donna from ‘That 70s Show’ made an appearance which made me giggle a little.