**The following is an in-depth review of “The Girl on the Train” and does contain spoilers**
Based on the 2015 novel of the same name, "The Girl on the Train" was directed by Tate Taylor and stars Emily Blunt as Rachel. Rachel is recently divorced after discovering her husband cheating with their real estate agent and now lives with her friend Cathy and spends her days commuting by train.
Often on these commutes, Rachel stalked her husband. He has since married the real estate agent and had a daughter. To cope, Rachel creates an alternate universe and makes up stories for the people she saw through the windows of the train.
The lives that Rachel imagined for these people are often quite the opposite of their real lives.
Rachel has a problem with alcohol and she often drinks during her commute. One day, she saw a woman (whom she had imagined had a perfect marriage) kissing a man who was not her husband. After drinking, Rachel decided to leave the train and confront the woman.
In this file image, released by Universal Pictures, Emily Blunt appears in a scene from, "The Girl on the Train." Propelled by the popularity of Paula Hawkins’ best-seller, the adaptation of “The Girl on the Train” led North American theaters in ticket sales with $24.7 million, according to studio estimates Sunday, Oct. 9, 2016. (DreamWorks Pictures/Universal Pictures via AP, File)
Before she can confront the woman about her affair, Rachel passes out and wakes in her apartment hours later and injured. It isn't long before a detective arrives to question Rachel and tell her she is the prime suspect in the disappearance of the cheating woman.
The film tries to be a suspenseful whodunnit in the vein of "Gone Girl," a film which was highly successful a year before "The Girl on the Train" novel was published.
Where "Gone Girl" led you to believe the film was going in one direction and then abruptly changed course, "The Girl on the Train" tries to be that but ends up being incredibly predictable the entire time. "Gone Girl" kept the audience on the edge of their seat and when everything finally came together, there was a sense of having been punched in the gut. With "The Girl on the Train" you have to constantly talk yourself out of getting up from your seat and punching yourself in the gut.
Emily Blunt does turn in a pretty wonderful performance. Much more wonderful than this movie deserves. It felt like she was trying to make this film her Oscar, but I really don't see any awards in this film's future apart from perhaps a Razzie or three. Emily Blunt was easily the only upside to seeing this film.
"The Girl on the Train" is very out-of-place on cinema screens. In both style and quality, this film would have felt much more at home as a Lifetime original movie than a major motion picture. Apart from Emily Blunt, most of the acting seems to be trying too hard and the storyline - while it had potential and could have been great - is just poorly executed and comes off as flat and bland.
Ultimately, "The Girl on the Train" was marketed better than it was actually presented, and it tried to recapture a magic that it didn't truly understand.
"The Girl on the Train" currently holds a 43 percent on Rotten Tomatoes.
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