The first The Girl on the Train images have arrived online, and they promise that at the very least, there will be a girl on a train at some point. The story follows Rachel (Emily Blunt), a lonely, alcoholic divorcee who uses her daily commute to fantasize about the seemingly perfect life of the couple—whom she dubs “Jason and Jess (Luke Evans and Hayley Bennett)”—she glimpses every day when the train stops at the signal. One day, however, she sees something shocking during the train’s routine stop, and subsequently becomes entangled in a web of intrigue. “Rachel does things that we all think, and we all wish we could do,” director Tate Taylor (The Help) tells EW.
Although the book takes place in London, Taylor reveals that shifting the movie to Manhattan will only help to increase the protagonist’s sense of isolation since the character will remain British. “She’s trying to reclaim or redefine herself, and yet she’s not in her native land.”
The Girl on the Train has been the next Gone Girl when it comes to books, and it's easy to draw comparisons, but Taylor is a very different director than David Fincher, so I'm interested to see how he tackles a female-driven thriller, especially when he has a talented actress like Blunt in the lead.
Check out the new The Girl on the Train images below. The film opens October 7, 2016, and also stars Justin Theroux and Rebecca Ferguson.
Here's the synopsis for Paula Hawkins' novel The Girl on the Train:
Rachel takes the same commuter train every morning. Every day she rattles down the track, flashes past a stretch of cozy suburban homes, and stops at the signal that allows her to daily watch the same couple breakfasting on their deck. She’s even started to feel like she knows them. “Jess and Jason,” she calls them. Their life—as she sees it—is perfect. Not unlike the life she recently lost.
And then she sees something shocking. It’s only a minute until the train moves on, but it’s enough. Now everything’s changed. Unable to keep it to herself, Rachel offers what she knows to the police, and becomes inextricably entwined in what happens next, as well as in the lives of everyone involved. Has she done more harm than good?
Compulsively readable, The Girl on the Train is an emotionally immersive, Hitchcockian thriller and an electrifying debut.