THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN Teaser Trailer
The adult thriller continues its comeback with The Girl on the Train, as the ever-changing landscape of the movie industry seems to be shifting back towards these sturdy moneymakers. They’re solid fillers for studios with time in between tentpoles, and while many aspire to the breakout success of Gone Girl, even smaller entities like Eye in the Sky earn steady returns.
The Girl on the Train is clearly trying to be the former, providing a juicy, twisty plot that will divide audiences into those who have read the bestselling book of the same name and those who haven’t. That leaves the film with the tricky task of engaging those who are gleefully waiting for everyone else to gasp and those who are watching it unfold for the first time, which is two very different viewing experiences.
The man charged with meeting all those expectations is The Help and Get on Up director Tate Taylor, who has the opportunity here to expand his impressively diverse filmography. As with those last two films, he’s got a stellar cast to work with, led by Emily Blunt.
Now, I’m convinced that Blunt has the skill set to play anyone she wants, but her appearance here is a significant deviation from the book. She’s supposed to be playing a character that has completely let herself go, and it’s clear from the trailer that Blunt is not that. I bring this up because it’s an often referenced plot point in the book, and if the film settles for minimal make-up and frumpy clothing while still referring to her as hideous, then it will be contributing heavily to the unrealistic beauty standards that pervade popular cinema.
That quibble aside, this is almost guaranteed to be a hit, and a quality one at that. If the genre continues to offer films like this, then it should settle into a comfortable niche left open by all the superhero battles.
The Girl on the Train is directed by Tate Taylor and stars Emily Blunt, Haley Bennet, Luke Evans, and Justin Theroux. It will be released in the U.S. and the U.K. on October 7th, 2016. For international release dates, click here.
Do you think The Girl on the Train can meet its Gone Girl level expectations? Let us know in the comments!
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