The Screen Actor’s Guild revealed their nominations this morning, and clearly had a lot of love for Moonlight, Fences, Manchester By The Sea, Hidden Figures and the Viggo Mortensen led indie Captain Fantastic; all were present in SAG’s Best Ensemble Cast line up, which is their Best Picture prize so to speak.
Ever since The Girl On the Train was released last year, it was hailed as “the next Gone Girl.” Such a comparison was probably a little unfair, despite both novels’ reliance on the untrustworthy narrator device, the switching between POV’s throughout the story and the fact they were shocking thrillers.
And so when it was announced that the film adaption of The Girl On the Train would be announced in October, just days shy of Gone Girl’s (the film) two year anniversary, the comparisons grew. Many wondered if Emily Blunt, starring as the main character Rachel, would secure the first Oscar nomination that has (unfairly) eluded her throughout her career like Rosamund Pike did for Gone Girl. The film would no doubt be a smashing success (it’s already being projected to be the #1 film this weekend with close to $30 million. Not Gone Girl level numbers, but pretty respectable nonetheless). It just needed to be good enough for Oscar consideration, right?
Unfortunately, critics have not been kind to The Girl On the Train. Metacritic has it at a middling 48, with many mentioning or flat out comparing it to Gone Girl.
And while the film does have its issues, one of them shouldn’t be that it’s not the next Gone Girl. Continue reading
Jon On Film 