What's BTMA? It stands for "book to movie adaptation". My BTMA reviews are done separately from the book review.
Movie Release Date: October 7, 2016
MPAA Rating: R | Mystery, Thriller | 1 hr 52 min
Watch Date: October 9, 2016
Rating: 3/5
This review is spoiler free, so if you haven't read the book or seen the movie yet, no worries, I've got you covered!
Movie Release Date: October 7, 2016
MPAA Rating: R | Mystery, Thriller | 1 hr 52 min
Watch Date: October 9, 2016
Rating: 3/5
This review is spoiler free, so if you haven't read the book or seen the movie yet, no worries, I've got you covered!
| Curious to see what I thought about the book? Click here to read my book review of The Girl on the Train, which also earned a rating of 3/5. This past weekend I took some time out to view the latest book to movie adaptation, The Girl on the Train. This book was constantly being compared to Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn. I don't think the book, nor the movie was good enough to earn that status. While it's good, don't be fooled, this is no Gone Girl. |  |  |
| When I first starting seeing the trailers, I was excited and I hoped that the movie would thrive where the book fell short. Did that happen? No, not really. I enjoyed the movie, but I tend to think it's because I read the book and felt vested, plus I already knew what was going on. Which I believe added to the viewing experience. I took my husband with me and his feedback was that the story felt jumbled up at times. I tend to agree. I think that for those that have not read the book, how the story unfolds could be a bit murky. | |
The book is told in the first-person by each of the three women, but I'm not sure that translated well on film. Same as in the book, not only are we switching POV's between the three women this story centers around, but we are also switching from past to present quite frequently. If not done cleanly, it could make the viewer frustrated.
I enjoyed the fact that the film came very close to the book. It's rare for an adaptation to be so similar. I give them a thumbs up in that regard. They also selected the cast well. The first and most obvious change was the location. I was wondering if they would bring this story from the UK to the US and they did. The focal city went from London to NYC. What that a good change? Honestly, it made no impact either way.
Even though there was some issue with the progression of the time like, I liked the pacing. It kept my attention the entire movie. Rachel (Emily Blunt) is portrayed in such a true way, it's scary and sad all at once. Her from her alcoholism to her total gullibility when it comes to her ex husband Tom (Justin Theroux) is genuine and I bought it. Emily Blunt was the star of the show and she nailed it.
I also enjoyed the simplification of the secondary characters (like Rachel's roommate) - with so much going on, we didn't really need to get into that like we did in the book.
Overall, while no where near perfect, I enjoyed it. If you read the book, I totally recommend that you catch this one. It's definitely matinee worthy, and maybe even worth an evening movie date. If you saw The Girl on the Train, please share your thoughts in the comments. I'd like to know if this was a hit or miss for you.
I enjoyed the fact that the film came very close to the book. It's rare for an adaptation to be so similar. I give them a thumbs up in that regard. They also selected the cast well. The first and most obvious change was the location. I was wondering if they would bring this story from the UK to the US and they did. The focal city went from London to NYC. What that a good change? Honestly, it made no impact either way.
Even though there was some issue with the progression of the time like, I liked the pacing. It kept my attention the entire movie. Rachel (Emily Blunt) is portrayed in such a true way, it's scary and sad all at once. Her from her alcoholism to her total gullibility when it comes to her ex husband Tom (Justin Theroux) is genuine and I bought it. Emily Blunt was the star of the show and she nailed it.
I also enjoyed the simplification of the secondary characters (like Rachel's roommate) - with so much going on, we didn't really need to get into that like we did in the book.
Overall, while no where near perfect, I enjoyed it. If you read the book, I totally recommend that you catch this one. It's definitely matinee worthy, and maybe even worth an evening movie date. If you saw The Girl on the Train, please share your thoughts in the comments. I'd like to know if this was a hit or miss for you.
