Movie Mondays: On the occasional Monday, I will review a book series or novel that has been made into a movie. I will then answer the question that everyone asks: which is better, the movie or the book? Here is this edition’s offering:
Book: The Girl on The Train by Paula Hawkins (2015) | Movie: The Girl on The Train (2016)
Which did I read/see first? the BOOK
Book Cover | Movie Poster
Author: Paula Hawkins
Genre: Adult, Thriller, Mystery
Heat Rating: cold
Point of View: First Person, Multiple
Source & Format: Public Library–eBook
I read this book right in the middle of its hype and I did thoroughly enjoy it despite knowing how it would end early on.
I liked how this story moved. I’m a fan of multiple POVs in my stories because I find it keeps the story’s pace up. It also provides me the opportunity to latch onto another character if I’m not really a fan of someone else. But here, the multiple POVs did a great job of building the narrative and the mystery. This book was really steady and that made it easy to read.
As for the mystery: I did know whodunit pretty early on. But, I was second guessing my initial hypothesis as I was reading which is always a great thing.
For the most part, this lived up to the hype. It was a solid and entertaining novel that I truly enjoyed.
Rating: 3.5/5
Full Review: Full series review here!
- Gone Girl by Gillian Flynn
Ok, can I just say that I am fascinated by the fact that the movie rights were sold for this book before it was even on the shelves. It’s like they knew it would be a bestseller and that people would want it as a movie…marketing at its finest.
Were My Expectations Met?
It’s hard to watch a thriller when you know how everything happens. I can remember watching Gone Girl for the first time when the big twists were revealed and gasping in shock. I knew watching The Girl on the Train as a movie wouldn’t have me gasping aloud but I was curious to see how they were going to bring this book to life.
I did find myself getting a little bored as the movie progressed. I’m sure part of the issue was that I knew what happened so I just wanted to get to the good stuff. But I do think some parts were longer than they needed to be. The movie kinda just went through the motions and a lot of the twists really weren’t until the end so you don’t really have those twists spurring you on as the movie progressed.
So like the book, it could have lost a couple of minutes of film time to keep me totally intrigued.
How Close is it to the Book?
It’s been so long so I don’t really remember everything. But it seemed pretty close. As I was watching it was jogging my memory (my mom and I both read the book but couldn’t remember how everything goes down besides whodunit) so that leads me to believe it was very similar, if not the same.
Did I Like the Cast?
I thought Emily Blunt was fantastic as Rachel. I really don’t know who else could have played that role. She just made it seem so natural. And the rest of the girls did a great job as well. It was a really well cast movie when all is said and done.
I found myself a little bored with the movie. Maybe it was because I already knew how it was going to end so it lacked the suspense but it felt a little too long for me. But it is a well done movie and the cast is great so it is worth a watch if you want to see how they handle it!
Do you agree? Leave a comment below!
Synopsis for The Girl on the Train (from Goodreads):
A debut psychological thriller that will forever change the way you look at other people’s lives.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?
A compulsively readable, emotionally immersive, Hitchcockian thriller that draws comparisons to Gone Girl, The Silent Wife, or Before I Go to Sleep, this is an electrifying debut embraced by readers across markets and categories.
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