Book V/s Movie: The Girl on the Train
Paula Hawkins’ thriller The Girl on the Train follows divorcee Rachel Watson as she tries to piece together memories of a destructive night and solve the mystery of who murdered her ex-husband’s neighbor, Megan Hipwell. The film adaptation of the same name was released in the theatres in 2016 by DreamWorks starring Emily Blunt. Though this novel-turned-movie was a success, it was disappointing in comparison to the book.
The plot revolves around the lives of the three women, namely Rachel Watson, Anna Boyd, and Megan Hipwell in terms of relationship troubles and binge drinking. Some aspects of the movie stayed honest to the manuscript whereas others show a huge change. So here are some such instances that may have contributed to the overall response of the audience.
The Setting of the Plot
The change in the setting of the movie turned out to be a major disappointment for the readers. The plot of the novel was set in London, whereas in the movie it was changed to New York. Though this fast-paced setting did kind of elevate the element of thrill, the overarching plot lost its essence that comes with the lifestyle of the city of London. For instance, the change in Rachel’s choice of drink — in London — Rachel is seen purchasing cans of premixed gin and tonic from the train station, whereas in New York — she becomes a vodka drinker.
Investigators for the Case of Megan’s Disappearance
There is a slight change in the investigation of Megan’s disappearance case in the film. The novel has a pair of investigators that follow up on the case — Gaskill and Riley. But in the movie, the makers have combined the characteristics of both the investigators into one — played by Allison Janney.
Tom as the Villain
The novel, as well as the movie, are consistent when they portrayed the character of Tom as the villain. The portrayal was very detailed and executed with precision. I feel that the director of the movie did a good job in bringing out the nuances of the main antagonist in depth while keeping his characteristics alive.
The Wife of Tom’s Ex-Boss
The character of Clara in the novel is named “Martha” in the movie which is played by Lisa Kudrow. I personally felt that this character was a bit redundant in the movie. This character affects the storyline majorly and not in a positive way. In the movie, Martha along with Rachel drop a lot of clues that give the audience an idea of the real murderer of Megan quite early on in the movie and this robs the audience of the excitement created by the suspense that the novel had built around Megan.
Rachel’s Roommate Cathy
Unlike the movie, Cathy played by Laura Prepon has a very well-rounded character in the novel who helped Rachel move forward in the novel. But in the movie, apart from some key scenes between Cathy with Rachel, which were seen as irreplaceable, the background story between the two friends is not depicted accurately and is not given much importance.
Rachel’s Experience being Gas Lighted
This is a major turning point in the storyline, and both the novel and the film depict it in a different light. The novel sees Rachel eventually realizing that she is being misled by Tom and starts to see things, especially Tom, in a new light and this happens gradually over the course of the novel. This situation builds up until Rachel’s coincidental meeting with Martha. While in the film, there is a use of a few small additional scenarios that lead to Rachel’s realization and they happened in a small span of time.
In my opinion, the film would have fared better if the changed plot was not so drastic. When making such high-scale productions of a manuscript, the director is allowed to change certain elements of the original text in order to cater to the needs of the audience. These artistic liberties are a good opportunity for producing creative works for the purpose of entertainment. But at the same time, it is also important to retain the originality of the work and not disappoint the audience.
