‘THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN’ (2016) Movie Review – Emily Blunt Plays a Creepy AF Stalker


‘The Girl on the Train’ is a Mystery Thriller based on the book of the same name and stars Emily Blunt alongside a flurry of very talented actors and actresses. This film is being constantly referred to as being the new ‘Gone Girl’ due to the very similar darker and unsettling tones expressed in the trailers, and after seeing this film it definitely does feel similar to 2014’s ‘Gone Girl’. I would say this film goes to more darker places than Gone Girl and is at times a lot more unnerving which is an asset that sometimes works against it. The performances all across the board were fantastic, especially Emily Blunt who’s character is very complex and damaged, and you don’t know whether you are on her side or not. That is the case for many of the characters as your opinions of them change constantly throughout the film and it adds a lot of layers to them and really fleshes them out as people. The film also really hinges on the mystery elements and the element of surprise, which worked for most of the film but most definitely not early on.


After the first 20 minutes or so i was all in on this film, i was completely hooked on the mystery and trying to unravel exactly what was happening. But those early minutes of the film i had a really hard time trying to piece together exactly where the film was going and it was just really weird. Once the main plot kicked in and we had been introduced to all of the different parties it was good, but the execution of that setup for me did not work as well as it should have. Some elements came back around later in the film but the opening as a whole was the weakest part of the film. The film takes a slight hit in terms of the way it was edited, there are many time jumps and very quick flashes of blurry images throughout the film which work most of the time but will leave you confused for a while as you try to get your bearings on whether you are still in the past or you’re now caught up to the present. Some you have to wait the entire duration for them to be explained.


The large talented cast includes the likes of Justin Theroux, Allison Janney, Edgar Ramirez, Haley Bennett, Rebecca Ferguson, and Luke Evans who all sold me on their roles in the film. You get invested in all or most of these different characters’ lives and the film has you thinking about every single one in relation to the main plot and how they can be connected. But the biggest standout is by far Emily Blunt, her performance as this very complicated, vulnerable yet determined stalker was very captivating and she never broke character once throughout the film which keeps you invested in what is going on.


So to not reveal any of the secrecy behind this film i will leave it at that and say if you did enjoy Gone Girl then you will also most likely get a good kick out of this film. Just understand that it isn’t as good so don’t expect the same quality to go along with the suspense. Despite all the highlights, some questionable editing and a rather uninteresting opening hold this film back when it could have been incredible as opposed to really good.