The Girl on the Train

This film is based on Paula Hawkins’ bestselling novel of the same name.

“I used to watch this woman…”

“The Girl on the Train” opens with a narration of the character Rachel (performed by Emily Blunt), a depressed alcoholic, who spends most of her time riding on the train. She sees a woman and becomes obsessed with her “perfect” life. Everyday she sees her in her perfect home with her husband and their most intimate moments.

Her obsession is interrupted when she sees the woman (Megan Hipwell) with another man. Rachel sees Megan’s infidelity as a betrayal to her and becomes enraged. We learn Rachel’s own marriage ended when her husband cheated and left her after she failed to get pregnant. This betrayal and loss led to her excessive drinking, and she can’t remember things clearly. Rachel’s fixation climaxes when Megan comes up missing. This mysterious beginning leads viewers down a rabbit hole of lies, adultery and murder.

Emily Blunt and Luke Evans are adept and truly believeable. The rest played their parts well. The plot is indeed confusing, but in a very intriguing way. I wanted to unravel the mystery and, with every scene, I learned more and understood less, which only made me want to watch more.

Now to the objectionable content, there is an abundance. Alcohol is used excessively by the leading character and others throughout the film. Adultery is a running theme that’s at the forefront of the movie. Sex and nudity is also graphically shown.

This film deals with many different sin issues, including: adultery, lying, drunkenness and how it affects people around them. The Bible says clearly these are sins. The one thing the film lacked is redemption. It just leaves the hollow feeling of a depraved world—a world ignorant of God’s mercy and grace, where people allow their sins to devour their souls. The film goes into deep detailed consequences of these actions, but not one character seeks repentance or forgiveness, they simply move on a hollow sense of closure.

As for a recommendation, I enjoyed the mystery and putting the pieces of puzzle together and was completely taken aback by the surprise ending. But be advised that this film contains very mature and offensive content and is certainly not for younger audiences. Discernment is key.

Violence: Extreme / Profanity: Extreme—“Jesus Christ” (1), “Jesus” (1), “God” (2), “hell,” f-words (60+), “mother-f*****” (1), s-words (4), “a**” (1), “d*ck” (1) / Sex/Nudity: Extreme

See list of Relevant Issues—questions-and-answers.