The Girl on the Train (2016)

Directed by Tate Taylor

Written by Erin Cressida Wilson (screenplay) and Paula Hawkins (novel)

Starring Emily Blunt, Haley Bennett, Rebecca Ferguson, and Justin Theroux 

     *spoilers for those who haven't read the book*

     A thrilling movie based on the book by best selling, world renowned author, Paula Hawkins- that still manages to be somewhat of a let down despite the books tremendous success. It has everything to be almost as successful as Gone Girl, with a riveting storyline adapted from best selling books- however it falls short of being anything like Gone Girl. This being director, Tate Taylor's first thriller, I can't say I was expecting much- although with how much everyone loved the book I still had some hope for the film adaptation. 

     It all starts with the protagonist and narrator, Rachel (Emily Blunt). She is an alcoholic who spends her days riding the train for long stretches, back and forth into New York City. Along the trains route is a beautiful house, with her idea of a picture perfect couple: the pretty blonde Megan (played by Haley Bennett who looks shockingly similar to Jennifer Lawrence in this film) and her husband, Scott (Luke Evans). Rachel adores this couple she has never met, in a somewhat creepy manner at times. She hopes the best for their love, which is why she is enraged when she witnesses Megan embracing in a passionate kiss with her therapist, Dr. Abdic (Edgar Ramirez). Through many confusing flashbacks, we learn that before alcoholism consumed her marriage- Rachel once lived a few houses down from Scott and Megan. Her ex-husband Tom (Justin Theroux) now lives in her old house with his new wife, Anna (Rebecca Ferguson). Things start to get tricky for Rachel when the apparent adulteress, Megan- disappears. To make matters worse, she disappears on the same night that Rachel decided to confront her on her infidelity. Because of a drunken black-out, Rachel does not have any memory of that night, leading her to be a suspect in the disappearance. 

     As more "twists" start to unveil throughout the course of the movie, I can't say I had any big "no way!" moments. Everything is presented in such a manner that my suspicions of the outcomes of the plot, were just confirmed. I was never really surprised. The movie takes places over a 6 month time period, and the constant flashbacks between the past and present gave me whiplash. 

     Emily Blunt's performance is impressive despite the sometimes messiness of the movie. Her portrayal of this alcoholic woman relays back and forth between tortured victim and scheming lunatic. She has a strong performance that leaves little room for other characters to share the spotlight. Despite the importance of the supporting characters in the book, Erin Cressida Wilson portrays them in a pretty one dimensional, cliche manner. Theroux plays the controlling ex-husband, Ferguson plays the stuck-up new wife, and Bennett plays the damaged goods who ends up the victim. The film brings some more big names to the film like, Laura Prepon, Lisa Kudrow and Allison Janney but they all have such minuscule screen time you could blink and miss them. 

     Despite all my criticism, this was a thrilling movie and I was never bored. Although the flashbacks may have been confusing, and the depiction of the story may gave been predictable- it was still a story that I wanted to follow. 

I give The Girl on the Train a...

6/10

Split (2016)

Directed by M. Night Shyamalan

Written by M. Night Shyamalan

Starring James McAvoy, Anya Taylor-Joy, and Haley Lu Richardson

     Director and writer, M. Night Shyamalan of past box-office successes like, Sixth Sense and Signs- brings us yet another psychological thriller with his name attached to it. This time around unfortunately, he does not triumph like in the past. Split was longer than it had to be, lacked his normal intensity and suspense, and left the possibility of a sequel with its choppy ending. The one good thing that came from this film for me was the interesting acting performance from McAvoy. 

     The movie begins with a birthday party involving two popular girls; Claire (Haley Lu Richardson) and Marcia (Jessica Sula), and the outcast, Casey (Anya Taylor-Joy). Following the party the three girls are abducted by a deranged man (James McAvoy). We soon learn that this man suffers from a severe case of multiple personality disorder. He has 23 district personalities- three of which we see make a strong presence. We meet the "leader" Dennis, the motherly Patricia, and the childish Hedwig. The three personalities all speak of how the girls were brought there to feed the "Beast"- who is a possible 24th personality. The psychiatrist for the girls captor, Dr. Karen Fletcher (Betty Buckley), thinks this alter may not be real, but we soon find out otherwise. 

     The remainder of the film proceeds as any other cliche thriller flick. The girls attempt to escape in many ways you would expect- physical assault against their captor, trying to outsmart him, or even using a hanger to un-lock a door. Most of the film was focused on the girls trying to escape, while the captor attended therapy sessions with his psychiatrist- which kind of took away from the suspense of the film. I understand the intent was to further allow us to understand the disorder that he is suffering from- however, the scenes with the psychiatrist took away from the film's tension. There were also some flashback scenes to Casey's childhood, which I remain unsure of their intent. 

     McAvoy's displays over a dozen personalities in this film, and obviously steals the spotlight with them. The other characters in the movie were pretty forgettable making it easier for McAvoy to shine. Anya Taylor-Joy does stand out from the other two girls considering they are perfect examples of horror movie cliches. She plays a pretty sullen character considering the circumstance she is involved in. 

     The ending sets this lacking thriller movie up for a sequel, which may be what we need considering the ending was left very opened. Overall, Split is missing the suspense I was seeking when I watched it. It had an interesting idea for a plot, with a man suffering from multiple personality disorder kidnapping three girls. However, the narrative was weak and left me disappointed. 

I give Split a...

5/10