12 Awesome Performances In Otherwise Awful 2016 Movies

Adapted from a novel of the same name, The Girl on the Train is a thriller revolving around sex, deceit and murder. Emily Blunt stars as the titular train-riding girl Rebecca, an alcoholic divorcee who uses her daily commute as a means of spying of ex-husband, his new wife and their married neighbours before her voyeurism leads her to uncover secrets that cast their seemingly perfect lives in an entirely different light. Basically, it’s this year’s Gone Girl but whereas that film charmed critics and won a tonne of awards, The Girl on the Train falls flat despite its interesting premise.

It undoubtedly suffers from what many book adaptations do in trying to cram all the novel’s plot twists and turns into a comparatively short amount of screen time and ends up feeling hollow, rushed and melodramatic. The one saving grace of the film however is Blunt’s performance as Rebecca. Perfectly capturing her sozzled state of despair and loneliness as she drifts into obsession and self-doubt, she gives a tour de force performance that makes an ultimately middling film worth watching.