The last time a major erotic thriller novel got the big-screen treatment, we were gifted withDavid Fincher’s exhilaratingGone Girl, a wildly funny, brilliantly paced masterpiece of sorts which featuredBen Affleck’s best acting arguably ever. In contrast, our first views ofTate Taylor’s adaptation of the belovedThe Girl on the Trainlooks like standard operating procedure, as if someone had attempted to remakeFatal Attractionwithout the sizzle, wit, or glorious, grainy visuals thatAdrian Lyneadded to the material.
The latest trailer for Taylor’s upcoming thriller, which will be his official follow-up to his fascinating yet faultyJames BrownbiopicGet On Up, does not add much to that equation. The film looks as if it will be carried almost exclusively by the tremendous abilities of its cast, which includesEmily Blunt,Allison Janney,Rebecca Ferguson,Justin Theroux,Luke Evans,Haley Bennett,Edgar Ramirez, and a yet-to-be-revealedLisa Kudrow. That being said, the fact that the film was penned byErin Cressida Wilson, the scribe behind the wonderfulSecretary, makes one wonder if Universal is holding back the film’s more ferocious and witty passages in an effort to highlight its eroticism and violence.
Having read the inarguably trashy, vaguely entertaining novel, I’m interested to see how Taylor, who is best known for the inexcusableThe Help, handles the intricate narrative but my hopes are not exactly high for this on the whole. Then again, I’m always open for a decent surprise, and it’s not like Taylor’s imagery doesn’t have some modicum of personality and distinction to them. It’s just that his compositions are always in service of an innocuous, rigid story that is entirely telegraphed within the first 30 minutes. Here’s hoping that Taylor has a few new tricks up his sleeve this time around.
Here’s the latest trailer forThe Girl on the Train:
Here’s the official synopsis forThe Girl on the Train:
In the thriller, Rachel (Blunt), who is devastated by her recent divorce, spends her daily commute fantasizing about the seemingly perfect couple who live in a house that her train passes every day, until one morning she sees something shocking happen there and becomes entangled in the mystery that unfolds.
