Brow Beat

Watch the Darkly Fascinating Trailer for a Movie Version of The Girl on the Train

An eerie new trailer grants us our first peek at the movie adaptation of Paula Hawkins’ best-selling thriller, The Girl on the Train, out Oct. 7. The novel, a downable quaff of intrigue, fugitive memories, and mistaken motives, sold more than 3 million copies in the U.S. and was widely hailed as the next Gone GirlThe film stars Emily Blunt as Rachel, a 32-year-old woman whose alcoholism cost her a job and a marriage, and Justin Theroux as Tom, her patient, seemingly stable ex. Rebecca Ferguson plays Anna, the protective new wife, and Luke Evans and Haley Bennett are a beautiful young couple Rachel obsesses over after she briefly glimpses them on her morning commute.

If the trailer’s any indication, the film—which swaps out Hawkins’ mist-drenched England for New York—will play up the suspense and psychological uncertainty of the novel. Expect ominous music and shadows interrupted by the precious gleam of a woman’s hair. Expect to have your view of golf clubs as harmless sporting goods rocked. Hawkins’ book drew some criticism for not differentiating sharply enough among its female leads, but in casting three charismatic actors to play Rachel, Anna, and Megan, director Tate Taylor (Get On Up) may avoid that pitfall. It will be interesting to see how he handles the problem of Rachel’s unreliable narration and fun to watch a story so beguiled by looking find footing in a visual medium.