Welcome to a new segment called 'Spotlight on...' - on the 4th Friday of every month, I will do an in-depth look at an upcoming release - the film may be weeks, months or years away! This month the spotlight will be on the 2016 thriller 'The Girl on the Train'. This is a film that I have been excited for since I read the book earlier this year - the book was fantastic and from the new trailer which dropped earlier this week, the film looks just as good. This profile will be split into three parts - Background, Trailer & Poster.
Background
The Girl on the Train is an adaption of the bestselling book of the same name. I saw lots of articles and casting announcements of this film which led to be purchasing the book - it was definitely money well spent. TGOTT is a fantastic read - the plot you don't see coming...it is up there with Gone Girl with a slightly more satisfying ending. The film will de directed by Tate Taylor who is known for The Help (big hit - financially and in awards season) and Get on Up (flop but well received by critics). The film will star one of my favourite actresses, Emily Blunt - Blunt has just done The Huntsman: Winter's War but is also known for flicks such as Into the Woods, Sicario & Edge of Tomorrow. Blunt will play Rachel Watson, the lead character. Co-starring alongside Blunt is Rebecca Ferguson - Ferguson was a summer favourite last year in Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation - she has also had roles in the Rock's Hercules and TV series, The White Queen. Ferguson will play Anna Watson, a very interesting character (that's all I'm saying). Completing the trio of leading ladies is Haley Bennett - she has the smallest role in the book out of the 3 but Megan Hipwell is still a very important character. Bennett has had roles in the recent Hardcore Henry and The Equalizer. Another notable actor involved in the film is Luke Evans - Evans is known for Dracula Untold but will star as Gaston in the upcoming Beauty & The Beast. Here is the synopsis of the film from IMBD -

"The Girl on the Train is the story of Rachel Watson's life post-divorce. Every day, she takes the train in to work in New York, and every day the train passes by her old house. The house she lived in with her husband, who still lives there, with his new wife and child. As she attempts to not focus on her pain, she starts watching a couple a few houses down -- Megan and Scott Hipwell. She creates a wonderful dream life for them in her head, about how they are a perfect happy family. And then one day, as the train passes, she sees something shocking, filling her with rage. The next day, she wakes up with a horrible hangover, various wounds and bruises, and no memory of the night before. She has only a feeling: something bad happened. Then come the TV reports: Megan Hipwell is missing. Rachel becomes invested in the case and trying to find out what happened to Megan, where she is, and what exactly she herself was up to that same night Megan went missing"

Trailer
The main reason I've spotlighted this film this month and not nearer to its October release is that the trailer was released on Wednesday and got me really excited. 

Shot By Shot Analysis 
0:11 - The first thing I notice about the film (and possibly my only complaint) is that it is set in America whereas the book is set in the UK. I don't really know the reason for this but I suppose the story could take place anywhere and isn't really limited to just one place. This scene is a glimpse from the train - I actually think this trailer could have been much shorter and more vague - they should have played up the Rear Window element in my opinion. 
0:31 - Here is the main link to Gone Girl - a woman disappearing. I think the comparisons to Gone Girl are valid as it is very similar but I think TGOTT has more characters which means more suspects and they are all very interesting. 
0:35 - I like Blunt's voiceover here - I think it sounds good and I still think it is interesting that she is keeping her English accent even though the story has been flipped to America. Blunt isn't really a perfect casting lookwise for this character but she is an excellent actress and I'm sure she'll do a fantastic job. What I don't really like at this point of the trailer is that the footage is so obviously slowed down - it doesn't look very professional - it's like they wanted to drag the footage out so the timings for the music would work.
0:54 - This is the first point the trailer hints at a connection between Megan and Hipwell and Rachel Watson. I hope the film creates a 'relationship/connection' between the two characters like the book did as that was pretty interesting and effective. 
0:58 - I really like this shot - I think it suits the music really well but I also think the stern look on Bennett's face is really effective and it looks like she is going to be doing a really good job. 
1:08 - Our first hint that Blunt's character isn't as innocent as she may seem. I think the trailer does a really good job as a whole at being quite unclear about what has happened and does make you doubt each character as it subtly develops connections. 
1:25 - 'I don't remember, there's some time missing' - this is a really good hint that viewers could dissect quite easily if they thought into it. I'm not going to give anything away here but this is another development to Blunt's character that makes her even more 'dodgy'. 
1:39 - I really like this shot of the silhouette - I think it is really effective. The trailer hasn't really came across as artistic but if it included more shots like this, I think it would have been very stylish. 
1:44 - This is our first proper glimpse of Rebecca Ferguson's character - I know audience members are going to be confused as there are two female characters who are blonde and look pretty similar. I don't know if the trailer does this deliberately as even I had to look out for Ferguson's character and not mistake her for Megan Hipwell. 
1:55 - I think this is incredibly effective as it puts the question out there that this is a 'whodunnit thriller' where anyone is the suspect. I think Emily Blunt delivers the word 'no' very effectively - even though its such a simple and short word, it was quite impactful. 
2:15 - Honestly, I find this bit at the end a little random, I don't really know what they were trying to go for? 

I have been very critical of this trailer as I can't really point out the 'good and exciting parts' without spoiling the story. I think this is a fantastic trailer and the use of music is very good. I really like the end sequence as to readers of the book, that is full of key moments that people who haven't read the book won't get. The twist is very good and it does work - it isn't out of the blue - I have confidence they can pull it off well with the film. The performances look fantastic - even though we only really got a look at Emily Blunt's character, I'm sure everyone else will be great too. I wouldn't call this a teaser trailer as it is pretty long and shows a lot but then again, it doesn't show too much and the hints it gives are with subtle dialogue and fast cutting scenes so it could be classed as a teaser - I don't know what more they would show in the full trailer though - more Rebecca Ferguson? This is a very good trailer and makes me very excited for October. 

Poster
As soon as I saw this poster, I knew it couldn't be as simple as it looked but I just couldn't work out what it was so I was a little disappointed. However, I went back to the poster and saw that the zip of her dress was a train track and the actual zip was a train - this was a very cool discovery. This poster is more of a teaser poster which doesn't really suit the 'teaser' trailer which gave quite a lot away. I actually feel that this poster hints at quite a stylistic film and the trailer does not. That doesn't lessen my excitement for the film as I don't see how it can go wrong with terrific talent and a story I know is good and entertaining. 









Buzz
I am very excited for this film, I think it's going to be as big as Gone Girl and with an October release date, I am pretty sure it will be an awards contender - that may also be a fan favourite. I would love to see Emily Blunt get some Oscar love for this film. The trailer is very good and captures the book perfectly even though it is more than just a teaser (but why am I complaining?...it gives me a better look!). If you haven't read the book, I would strongly recommend it to you but then the surprise would be ruined for the film so it is entirely up to you. The Girl on the Train may be a smaller film but I think it is going to be big!