Review: The Girl on the Train

Based on Paul Hawkins best selling novel, directed by Tate Taylor, the man behind The Help and starring a formidable cast including Emily Blunt, Justin Theroux and Rebecca Ferguson, despite it's negative reviews, I still held out a lot of hope for The Girl on the Train but alas it in the most part it regretfully dissappoints.
Sometimes it's hard to pinpoint the reasons why what seems like tense thriller just doesn't seem to convert it's universally postive appeal to the big screen. Before I Go to Sleep was a movie that suffered similar consequences in the last few years, where a solid storyline, strong cast and dependable director still failed to deliver for the cinematic masses.
In The Girl on the Train, the tale is relocated to the US but that is not reason enough to blame the lack of spark, intrigue and suspense that are evident in the book but quite clearly missing from the film.
Emily Blunt does an outstanding job as the alcoholic lead character and just about succeeds in rescuing this movie from being a complete shambles such is her convincing performance.
The pace of the movie seems to be a problem with the first hour just plodding along and the last twenty minutes seemingly tieing up loose ends at a frenetic pace! The other female characters (played by Rebbecca Ferguson and Hayley Bennett) just don't have the likeability to earn the viewers compassion and trust and the movie suffers as a result. Justin Theroux, who is often such a solid and talented actor seems to be miscast and never convinces in the role of Blunt's ex-husband Tom.
All in all, a puzzling missed opportunity that frustratingly fails to deliver on a strong premise. Dissappointing
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