GFF 2010: The Girl on the Train

It’s an interesting story, and one based on a true event: a woman, Jeanne, presents herself as the victim of an anti-Semitic hate crime, sparking nationwide condemnation of the fictional attack. But in the beginning, Jeanne enjoys a nice suburban life with her mother, and her only problem is that she needs a job. When Franck displays an interest in her, she’s oblivious to his obsessive, manipulative behaviour. The trajectory of their relationship makes for tense viewing – things are obviously set to go wrong at some point, it’s just a question of how. The segue from this to the fabricated assault, however, doesn’t quite add up, and although race and class prejudices contribute to the response of the media and politicians, the national context very much takes a back seat to the tale of a naïve young woman and a possessive boyfriend. Yet despite these insufficient answers the film is gripping throughout and makes for compulsive viewing.