Film Preview: The Girl on the Train (2016)

Page Revisions:

(April 24, 2016) Original
(July 24, 2016) New Trailer (#2) / New Posters (#2-#3)

Release Date:

October 7, 2016

Synopsis:

From IMDb: “The Girl on the Train is the story of Rachel Watson’s life post-divorce. Every day, she takes the train in to work in New York, and every day the train passes by her old house. The house she lived in with her husband, who still lives there, with his new wife and child. As she attempts to not focus on her pain, she starts watching a couple a few houses down — Megan and Scott Hipwell. She creates a wonderful dream life for them in her head, about how they are a perfect happy family. And then one day, as the train passes, she sees something shocking, filling her with rage. The next day, she wakes up with a horrible hangover, various wounds and bruises, and no memory of the night before. She has only a feeling: something bad happened. Then come the TV reports: Megan Hipwell is missing. Rachel becomes invested in the case and trying to find out what happened to Megan, where she is, and what exactly she herself was up to that same night Megan went missing.”

Poster Rating: B- / B- / B

SEE ALL POSTERS BELOW
Review: (#1) Does this really say anything about the film? No. Unless maybe you’ve read the book. It’s a poor advertising tool and suggests something that isn’t evident in the trailer. (UPDATE: I will note that I had not caught the train motif of the zipper until after seeing the second design. That does elevate my opinion of this first poster.)

(#2) Continuing the train motif of the first design, the red tracks don’t quite drive the design into visual spectacle. It leaves too much blank space that doesn’t seem to have genuine purpose. (#3) It’s not inventive or striking or original, but it’s fitting. It derives interest in the viewer through a simple tagline while establishing the setting of the film quite effectively.

Trailer Rating: B / B-

SEE ALL TRAILERS BELOW
Review: (#1) If it weren’t for Emily Blunt, this trailer might not look that interesting. There are some compelling situations displayed in the trailer, which could make it worth checking out.

(#2) This trailer doesn’t seem to understand how to create suspense. It tries to focus on too many elements at once rather than establishing this as a thriller that pits Emily Blunt’s betrayed housewife against a bitter husband and a dead woman’s ex while putting her in the cross hairs of suspicious investigators. The trailer needed a much better, more streamlined cut than this.

Oscar Prospects:

The book was a sensation and it could follow Gone Girl‘s path to the Oscars, but beyond Emily Blunt for Best Actress, I can’t see the film hitting much of an Oscar stride.