The Girl on the Train

The Girl on the Train, a film based on Paula Hawkins’ best -selling novel of the same name, takes the viewer on an emotional rollercoaster of a journey alongside the main character, Rachel, played with mesmerising skill by Emily Blunt. Mind member, Suzie, tells us why she thinks that it was important that this film was nominated for a Mind Media Film Award 2017, sponsored by ODEON.

The Girl on the Train is a powerful thriller, played out with clever Hollywood cinematography. Interweaving a plethora of issues both overtly and by subtle suggestion as the film unfolds, it allows the viewer to observe the lives of the other characters literally through a train window.

Emily Blunt’s superb performance depicting an ostensibly complex individual suffering from depression and alcohol dependency allows us to witness Rachel’s increasing isolation and decreasing grasp of reality as she travels each day on the same fruitless, obsessive and painful train journey watching the other characters and imagining their lives as very different to what they actually are.

The viewer sees into the lives of all the women, and the ways their lives are affected by circumstances, but the film does not explore the psychology of the characters thus allowing the viewer to do that for themselves. Emily Blunt’s performance is skilful, does not create a two -dimensional portrayal of a character with substance dependency and depression, but rather depicts a multi-faceted person, whose current mental health is a result of a wide range of events and circumstances.

"There are so many powerful themes running through the film, and the clever and gripping storytelling opens up a platform for honest discussions around sensitive, and in some communities, still taboo subject matter."

I found the film gripping, challenging and very thought provoking with its more unusual different representation of depression, alcohol dependency, and self-medicating as a coping mechanism, consciously or unconsciously. I think the film has been nominated for its willingness to portray difficult and sensitive issues through the vehicle of storytelling with its cryptic denouement. Emily Blunts bringing to life of a three dimensional character living with mental health issues for me would make it a film worth nominating.