Movie #1222 .........................."The Girl on the Train"

Movie #1222 "The Girl on the Train," contrary to the low scores it has gotten from critics, is a good, solid adaptation of an equally intriguing book.  Oh, there are a few flaws, like both the film and  the book  endings (for different reasons) , but I marvel at the layering of the story and the way time moves so swiftly but so smoothly, esp in the movie.  I'm not sure it was that smooth in the book; in fact, it was annoying at times to have to concentrate not only on all the names of the characters, and their similarities in looks and their relationships, but also the use of dates instead of chapter numbers.  But what I marveled at is how both the book and the movie have you going back and forth from one possible murderer to another all the way through.  The acting in the movie is pretty strong , esp. Emily Blunt --- with the camera up front it exposes the warts and all on each of the characters, and in that way they are hard to like, but still captivate our interest.  It's tough to play Blunt's character because she is the portrait of one terrifically sad person, so it's a gutsy role for her to have to  do, mainly  to keep our interest in a character that seems so weak willed.  The movie seemed a bit more lewd and foul mouthed than I remember the book was, and there were scenes left out from the book that fleshed out the characters a bit more (and a whole character left undeveloped (Mac)) but the added Elfman score helped fill in some gaps, and yes, there were a few "soapy" moments, but on the whole, I went with 3 other women who had also read the book and we all decided we enjoyed both a lot.  The one person who hadn't read the book said she could easily follow the movie , and it was quite a fun time to have seen the movie together and then over lunch to rehash our thoughts about it.  And just one post script:  we liked the whole experience of reading the book and watching the movie better than we had with the book/movie of "Gone Girl" --- just for what it is worth!  I give it 4 stars out of 5.  I don't want to say too much more, since people might be reading this and not know anything about the story --- and that's just a fine way to approach either  this  book or this  movie .  I think you will be entertained.


THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN      2016        R rated       4 out of 5 stars

During her daily rail commute, divorcée Rachel Watson observes the happily married couple living in a house near the train route. One day, she witnesses a scene that enrages her -- and soon finds herself deeply entangled in the ensuing mystery.

Cast: Emily Blunt, Haley Bennett, Rebecca Ferguson , Justin Theroux