The film adaptation of the best-selling novel, The Girl On The Train has moved one step closer to the big screen, with the news that Tate Taylor – director of 2011’s The Help – will take the helm on the production. With the book having been referred to as “another Gone Girl,” anticipation is high for this film – which is set to contribute to the refreshing wave of female-driven stories that are currently flowing into mainstream cinema.
Written by British author Paula Hawkins, The Girl On The Train draws comparisons to Gillian Flynn’s popular book mainly because of its narrative structure. Just as Gone Girl is told through seemingly unreliable main characters, The Girl On The Train is also narrated by three women who clearly have their own, unclear agendas.
Rachel – the main character – is an alcoholic who still rides the train every morning, despite having been fired from her job. From the train, she regularly watches a young couple – one half of which is Megan. Megan is having an affair with her therapist because she feels stifled by her life as a suburban spouse. One day, she disappears under mysterious circumstances, leading to Rachel informing the police of everything she has drunkenly witnessed from afar. This causes her path to cross with Anna – legitimately this time, though Rachel has been stalking her. Anna is Rachel’s ex-husband’s new wife, and previously employed the missing Megan as a babysitter.
The book was an instant hit upon publication earlier this year, by which point, Dreamworks had already snapped up the rights. The source material is being adapted by Erin Cressida Wilson (Men, Women And Children, Chloe) and now has Tate Taylor calling the shots. The next development we should expect to see is casting – and this project offers the chance for some really interesting choices. Whichever actresses are eventually announced as filling those top three roles, The Girl On The Train looks set to deliver a female-driven, female-written story, filled with complex and challenging characters, with a director of notable talent bringing it all together.
Published: May 22, 2015 06:33 am