The Girl on the Train pulls together a constellation of misfortunes that result in a body found partially decomposed and buried under a thin layer of pine needles and dirt.
The storyline sounds promising, but it seems as though the producers held back. This movie, based off Paula Hawkins’s book of the same name, lacks complexity. There is little suspense, and a single, unsatisfying and unoriginal twist at the end.
The best element in movies such as this is when the viewers themselves start questioning their own sanity. For example, in They Look Like People, it is nearly impossible to tell whether the character is schizophrenic or the near-apocalyptic events he describes are actually going to come true.
This film is not fear-inducing, and is only disturbing on the surface, much in the way murders in the news are disturbing. The unsettling, bone-chilling psychological terror that runs throughout films such as Shutter Island is missing in this one. None of the characters are especially intelligent or malicious, and their motives not as calculated or sadistic as someone like Hannibal Lecter’s. Their actions seem arbitrary.
That is not to say the film is not visually interesting, or does not have relatable characters. Megan, a young girl played by Haley Bennett, is restless and has a storyline of her own that is, at times, more interesting than the mystery itself. On the other hand Rachel, the main character played by Emily Blunt, is known as little more than a drunk ex-wife.
Rachel is a thinly constructed character who is identifiable as either a crazed murderer, a wandering drunk, or both. The film focuses too many scenes on her shaking hands dumping an entire handle into her water bottle and stumbling around, sipping steadily toward the bottom of the bottle.
Furthermore, the characters are flat. Anna played by Rebecca Ferguson, stays at home and runs on a rigorous schedule of farmers markets and morning walks. And in the face of something truly horrific, when she has the chance to redeem herself, Anna stands at the top of the staircase and watches.
Somehow, each of these three women are obsessed with babies. When they’re not talking about men, they’re talking about babies. Rachel, with her inability to conceive, comes across as mad with maternal instinct. There is little room left for these women to have ambitions of their own.
It is also hard to believe that Rachel has been living with her nameless friend for two years, riding a train to and from New York City every day, and manages to sit at home all day and lie about having a job. If the only thing to make her an interesting character is that she gets blackout drunk and she can’t remember what she did the night before, it is hard to empathize with her as a dynamic character.
The redeeming qualities of the film are overused to the point that they become flaws. The mysterious flashbacks, which seem interesting and rewarding at the beginning, are ultimately disappointing when the audience learns not to trust them, as some turn out not to have happened at all.
The visuals were interesting, but ultimately repetitive and melodramatic. It lacks tension and emotion, ultimately dragging on towards an unsatisfying ending. The title sums it up: a girl on a train, little else.
1.5/4 Shells
