THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN  2.9***

     The Girl on the Train tells the story of  Rachel (Emily Blunt), a troubled, alcoholic, divorcée who commutes every day on the train to Manhattan and each journey is the same and she passes the same row  of houses that she always focuses on obsessively.  Among those that Rachel sees daily is a beautiful, yet mysterious couple, Scott and Meagan,  who seem to live the perfect life, a marriage and life that Rachel pines for. This is made all the more difficult for Rachel given that her ex-husband Tom and his former mistress & now  wife Anna and their child live just a few houses away from that couple. But through all of this snooping, Rachel sees something she shouldn't and soon becomes drawn much more into the lives of these strangers than she ever could have expected.

One thing that can be said is that Emily Blunt owns this movie with a stellar performance. She pulls off a convincing a disheveled, struggling alcoholic who obsesses over her ex-husband’s new family which serves as her main motivation as we follow her story of trying to solve the mysterious disappearance of Meagan, the next door neighbor. You experience a range of emotions with her character from feeling sorry to slightly disgusted due to how she handles a variety of situations. 

In terms of trying to figure out 'what happened',  that is kept well under wraps until the third act of the film, but reaching that point is too slow paced  with not enough twists and suspense which ultimately drags the film down from its full potential. .Also the  time jumps designed to create more suspense were instead rather confusing  given that we already have to follow three separate story lines simultaneously.

'The Girl on the Train' turns out to be a fairly predictable mystery thriller that lacks suspense and originality. The premise itself is inventive, but the film failed to offer the excitement that  was expected.

Rated ”R” for violence, sexual content, language and nudity.

Clark