The plot twist-style movie — often associated with M. Night Shyamalan — can provide a delightful or anxiety-riddled experience for the viewer. The main challenge with using the end of a movie to, in a sudden twist, frame all that came before it is to construct a plot that is interesting enough to keep a viewer involved until that final epiphany occurs.
“The Girl on the Train,” based on the book of the same name by Paula Hawkins, could have done much better in this respect. The plot follows Rachel Watson (Emily Blunt) as she attempts to remember what happened the night Megan Hipwell (Haley Bennett) disappeared. After her husband Tom (Justin Theroux) left her for a real estate agent, Rachel turned heavily to alcohol and sank into a state of depression.
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One of the only solaces she has is a view from a train she takes to New York every day of Megan and her husband Scott (Luke Evans) and the life she imagines them to have. As the movie progresses, it becomes obvious that no one is as happy as others believe them to be.
Rachel struggles with her dependence on alcohol, her blackouts and her feelings of failure about her marriage to Tom. However, when Megan vanishes and Rachel cannot remember what happened, her journey of investigation and discovery takes her into her past in ways that she— and everyone else for that matter— never expected.
The movie itself was fairly dissatisfying, with many cuts and flashbacks as Rachel’s memory waxes and wanes, producing a rather unsteady feeling. This effect was likely intentional, but there were simply too few instances of overcoming or happiness for me to appreciate it. Essentially, there were no mountains to make valleys; there was just the trudge through the swamp of broken memories and discontinuous flashbacks.
One of the film’s better qualities was its exploration into other characters. Though Rachel is the protagonist, Megan and Tom’s new wife Anna (Rebecca Ferguson) also receive quite a bit of camera time, and their backstories are developed fairly extensively.
However, the characters themselves are nearly one dimensional and their actions are only surprising because of the way the movie is edited, not because they are dynamic. Much like the cold color scheme and solemn background music, the characters are mostly static.
The plot twist at the end is not sudden and satisfying, for the realization happens over several minutes and is hinted at sufficiently to reduce its shock. That being said, the ending is more satisfying than not, though it does not compensate for the rest of the film.
Ultimately, my complaint with this movie is a lack of identification. It is not incredibly entertaining or deep or funny or moving or satisfying. It belongs to no particular genre in no particular way, and the characters and plot are not moving.
Add “The Girl on the Train” to the list of movies that you won’t necessarily regret seeing, but you certainly won’t watch twice.
