Movie Review: Mercy (2026)

Genre: Techno Crime Thriller  

Director: Timur Bekmambetov  

Starring: Chris Pratt, Rebecca Ferguson  

Running Time: 100 minutes  

Synopsis: In a crime-ridden Los Angeles of 2029, the Mercy artificial intelligence system speedily resolves trials. Police detective Chris Raven (Chris Platt) wakes up from a drunken stupor strapped to a chair and facing AI Judge Maddox (Rebecca Ferguson), accused of murdering his wife Nicole. Maddox appears to have indisputable evidence of Chris' guilt, but he has 90 minutes to introduce reasonable doubt. He connects with daughter Britt (Kylie Rogers) and police partner Jaq (Kali Reis) to help uncover events leading to Nicole's death.

What Works Well: Writer Marco van Belle extrapolates to a society overcome by lawlessness and seeking AI-driven efficiency to speed-up the justice system. Judge Maddox is fair enough to allow Chris to access surveillance files and connect with potential witnesses, and director Timur Bekmambetov succeeds in opening up the premise from one chair and one screen to a breathless race-against-the-clock conspiracy thriller. As multiple competing agendas are exposed, Chris Platt and Rebecca Ferguson generate emotional momentum despite their state of confinement.

What Does Not Work As Well: The availability of instantly accessible audio and video files seemingly capturing everything everywhere all at once stretches the erosion of privacy to evisceration levels. With every new revelation the plot is increasingly packed with characters and details, and the final act dips into over-the-top territory.

Key Quote:

Chris: Human or AI. We all make mistakes... and we learn.

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Movie Review: A House Of Dynamite (2025)

Genre: Thriller  

Director: Kathryn Bigelow  

Starring: Idris Elba, Rebecca Ferguson, Jason Clarke  

Running Time: 112 minutes  

Synopsis: An intercontinental ballistic missile is spotted heading towards the United States. Captain Olivia Walker (Rebecca Ferguson) leads the response in the White House Situation Room, and the missile's target is identified as Chicago. From Alaska's Fort Greely, interceptor missiles are fired, while the President (Idris Elba) and the Secretary of Defence (Jared Harris) consider their options. Advice is provided by Deputy National Security Advisor Baerington (Gabriel Basso), who urges restraint, and General Brady (Tracy Letts), who argues for an overwhelming response.

What Works Well: The film repeats the same events from three different perspectives: the first focused on the Situation Room, the second on General Brady and Advisor Baerington, and the third accompanying the President. The construction is interesting and promotes a fill-in-the-gaps narrative, marginal characters in one run-through emerging as key players in the next. The production values are excellent, and the escalating tension of a potentially catastrophic situation carries Fail-Safe echoes and builds undeniable momentum.

What Does Not Work As Well: While the attempts to humanize imperfect characters are appreciated, there are too many of them to matter, and ultimately an inordinate amount of time is wasted on trinkety personal details. Some segments, including the chaotic reactions at FEMA, simply don't work. The Noah Oppenheim script is only interested in the US perspective of a global crisis, purposefully allowing fundamental questions (who, why) to float by answered in service of here-and-now urgency. The unsettling ending can be justified within the definition of the portrayed events, but is nevertheless deeply unsatisfactory.

Key Quote:

General Brady: We've already lost one American city, sir. How many more do you want to risk?

The President: What kind of fucking question is that? That's insanity, okay?

General Brady: No, Mister President. That's reality.

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Movie Review: Dune: Part Two (2024)

Genre: Epic Sci-Fi  

Director: Denis Villeneuve  

Starring: Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Rebecca Ferguson, Josh Brolin, Christopher Walken, Javier Bardem, Austin Butler, Florence Pugh, Dave Bautista, Charlotte Rampling  

Running Time: 166 minutes  

Synopsis: Having survived the ambush that wiped out the House of Atreides and killed his father, Paul (Timothée Chalamet) embeds with the Fremen tribe, native to the desert-like Arrakis planet that harbours the much coveted spice. Fremen leader Stilgar (Javier Bardem) believes Paul is the saviour predicted by prophecies, and Paul's pregnant mother Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) is anointed Reverend Mother. Fremen warrior Chani (Zendaya) is a sceptic, but nevertheless develops a relationship with Paul. As the evil Harkonnen exploit the planet, Paul leads an effective resistance and is joined by his Atreides mentor Gurney (Josh Brolin). The Harkonnen respond by appointing the psychotic Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler) to crush their fledgling enemies.

What Works Well: Remarkably, this sequel matches the original for scope, ambition, majestic visuals, and rich storytelling. Denis Villeneuve maintains control of a sprawling and imaginative narrative, this chapter focusing on a rebellion, the tension between folklore and pragmatism, and the consequences of individual actions, with no shortage of thrills, romance, and deception. Paul is certain that untold misery will be unleashed should he choose to step into leadership, and yet the current trajectory of annihilation and evil prevailing is also clear. Every faction has sub-factions and internal conflicts, every agenda has a counter-agenda, and the across-the-universe tapestry is tightly woven into epic duels for control of the future.

What Does Not Work As Well: At 2 hours and 45 minutes, this is another stamina test, made more stressful by a complex make-believe world that throws up obscure names and concepts last introduced hours ago.

Key Quote:

Paul: The visions are clear now. I see possible futures, all at once. Our enemies are all around us, and in so many futures they prevail. But I do see a way, there is a narrow way through.

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Movie Review: Dune: Part One (2021)

A science fiction epic, Dune: Part One is a breathtakingly beautiful and eloquently crafted adaptation of a complex story.

In the year 10191, the desert planet Arrakis is the galaxy's only source of precious Spice, a material with special properties and essential for interstellar travel. The House of Harkonnen has been responsible for mining Spice for many years, but now the Emperor decrees the House of Arteides will have dominion over Arrakis. The Fremen are the local inhabitants of Arrakis, brutally mistreated by Harkonnen and sceptical anything will change under Arteides. The desert planet's other residents are brutal and massive subterranean worms.

The benevolent Duke Leto Arteides (Oscar Isaac) prepares his people for a new position of prominence. His partner Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) belongs to the Bene Gesserit, an exclusive ancient sisterhood possessing special powers. Their son Paul (Timothée Chalamet) is growing into adulthood: both Leto and Jessica have high hopes for him, but Paul is troubled by vivid visions featuring death on Arrakis. The Arteides military commanders include weapons master Gurney Halleck (Josh Brolin) and fierce warrior Duncan Idaho (Jason Momoa).

The House of Arteides arrive at Arrakis and take control of mining operations. Leto and Paul offer better cooperation to Fremen leader Stilgar (Javier Mardem), and meet with Dr. Liet-Kynes (Sharon Duncan-Brewster), the Emperor-appointed planet handover judge. But all is not what is seems: the House of Harkonnen under Baron Vladimir (Stellan Skarsgård) has evil designs to reclaim control of Arrakis, and the Emperor is far from neutral.

Immediately eradicating bad memories of David's Lynch's 1984 atrocity, director Denis Villeneuve finally provides Frank Herbert's book with the screen treatment it deserves. Villeneuve co-wrote the script with Jon Spaihts and Eric Roth, and they wisely tackle just the first half the book. With a length of 156 minutes, Dune: Part One invests the necessary time to parse-out characters, motivations, and events into sequentially comprehensible increments.

Despite covering a partial story, this is a spectacular and ambitious achievement, filled with intersecting agendas and compelling arcs. Villeneuve demonstrates equal care for the visuals and the people, merging a deep narrative about destiny with stunning cinematography and special effects, all complemented by a brooding Hans Zimmer score. At the heart of the exhilarating sand-swept experience are eternal themes of human accountability, the ethics of resource exploitation, warmongering, superior powers, and battles for supremacy. Almost miraculously, all the threads remain intact and traceable.

A powerful and mysterious mother-son bond ties key events together, Lady Jessica quietly complicit in shaping her son's destiny, and by extension the galaxy's future. Her continued active participation in Paul's tumultuous mental and physical challenges provides a unique charge. Elsewhere the expansive action and combat scenes are well-staged and well-spaced within the political and personal intrigue. 

The actors take their roles seriously and hold their ground despite all the innovative costumes and imaginative set designs. Crucially, Timothée Chalamet finds the seam of uncertainty as a young man tentatively stepping into an elevated level of responsibility, and he is ably supported by Oscar Isaac and Rebecca Ferguson. Josh Brolin and Jason Momoa add macho presence, and only the Harkonnen cast members are allowed to slip into appropriately outlandish representations.

The final act is more ingrained with the Fremen, allowing Paul's visions to start translating into a purpose, and Zendaya finally appears outside the dream realm as Chani. Dune: Part One finds a deeply satisfying ending for the beginning, and is also honest in preparing for more to come.



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Movie Review: Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018)

A thrill-a-minute action movie, Mission: Impossible - Fallout delivers expertly constructed and exhilitaring set-pieces with astounding stunt work, but tilts towards over-the-top extremes.

Agent Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) of the Impossible Mission Force (IMF) accepts an assignment to retrieve missing plutonium before it falls into the hands of an anarchist terrorist group led by the mysterious John Lark, who filled the void created when Ethan apprehended mastermind Solomon Lane (Sean Harris).

Working with his support members Luther (Ving Rhames) and Benji (Simon Pegg), Ethan finds but loses the plutonium in a botched transaction in Berlin. This failure prompts the CIA's Erika Sloane (Angela Bassett) to insist her agent Walker (Henry Cavill) accompany Ethan, over the objections of IMF's Secretary Hunley (Alec Baldwin). 

Using information extracted from a rogue Norwegian nuclear scientist, Ethan's team heads to Paris to disrupt a meeting between Lark and black market dealer White Widow (Vanessa Kirby). After reuniting with MI6's agent Ilsa (Rebecca Ferguson), Ethan is forced to improvise by adopting a terrorist persona, and learns that Lane's release is part of a maniacal revenge and mass murder plot, with Ethan's ex-wife Julia (Michelle Monaghan) in imminent danger.

The sixth installment in the Mission: Impossible franchise, Fallout is stacked with exactly what the series promises: a succession of hair-raising chases, impossible yet possible stunts, and dazzling oh no! moments. Every plan is well thought-out but nothing ever goes according to plan, on-the-fly innovation is a core ingredient, and every twist is followed by a turn to throw doubt on everything and everyone. And in the hands of star/co-producer Tom Cruise and writer/director Christopher McQuarrie, quality and confidence ooze from every scene.

But yet signs of flab creep in. At 147 minutes this is a really long haul. Many of the chases should have been more sharply edited, and one or two of the pursuits could have been dispensed with altogether. In a subversion of real-time tension, the final 15 minutes (featuring the de rigeur countdown to the small matter of multiple nuclear bomb explosions) seem to take twice as long to tick by. And the humour starts to creep towards Roger Moore-era Bond shenanigans, sharp wit replaced by eye-rolls.

As for the plot, this is classic MacGuffin territory. The plutonium balls are an excuse for agile hops to snazzy locations in Berlin, Paris and London, ending with a trip to a rustic medical camp in Kashmir. The neck-snapping double and triple-crosses between all the assembled agents border on incomprehensible, but McQuarrie takes care to always explain what is going on and why (whether it makes sense or not), and particularly excels in rational, non-nausea-inducing editing of the chase and hand-to-hand combat scenes.

And Cruise continues to astound by performing all his own stunts, and some are truly jaw-dropping. The breathless motorcycle, car, and foot chases are here augmented by extraordinary fun with helicopters (inside and out), and Cruise earns enormous respect by placing his body on the line for some of the most impressive stunts captured on film.

Mission: Impossible - Fallout succumbs to some excess, but still delivers a blast.



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Movie Review: The Snowman (2017)

A psychological serial killer mystery, The Snowman offers a majestically forlorn aesthetic and a rich set of characters, but confused construction undermines the film's effectiveness.

In a prologue set in rural Norway, a young boy witnesses his single mother being physically abused by a man who may or may not be his father. The boy is then traumatized by his mother's horrific death.

Years later, Harry Hole (Michael Fassbender) is a washed-up police detective in Oslo. His relationship with Rakel (Charlotte Gainsbourg) has collapsed, and now he sleeps with the bottle, if he sleeps at all. Missing persons detective Katrine Bratt (Rebecca Ferguson) relocates to Oslo from Bergen, and Harry helps her investigate the disappearance of single mother Birte Becker, with a creepy snowman left near the missing woman's apartment.

The case brings back memories of a cold case when detective Rafto (Val Kilmer) investigated a missing woman suspected of having an affair with business tycoon Arve Stop (J.K. Simmons). Now Stop is leading Oslo's bid to host an international sports event, and Katrine is keen to explore his connection to Birte's doctor Idar Vetlesen. Meanwhile Rakel's new partner doctor Mathias Lund-Helgesen (Jonas Karlsson) is friendly towards Harry and they are both keen to help Rakel's surly teenaged son Oleg. However, Harry is soon distracted by more missing women and gruesome murders.

An adaptation of the Jo Nesbø book, The Snowman is a reasonably good murder mystery, but also infuriatingly incohesive.  Director Tomas Alfredson creates a suitably frigid Nordic mood, with plenty of spooky moments to prey on the alcohol-compromised mind of detective Harry Hole. He is surrounded by intriguing characters from the past and present, and enough raw material to maintain a high level of engagement.

But a rushed production schedule resulted in a few scenes not being filmed, and the editing job could only rescue so much. Too many plot points are underdeveloped or abandoned, not by intellectual design but rather botched delivery. The Arve Stop story about a respectable pillar of society embroiled in a prostitution ring exploiting immigrants is much more than a subplot, and yet is left exposed in a snowstorm. A mould problem at Harry's apartment with shifty workers helping themselves in and out is another victim of truncated development.

And essential psychological and practical components of the central mystery, including the snowman symbolism, body desecration, and the murderer's connection to his victims and opportunity to plot and execute the killings, are at best scrambled and sometimes plain illogical.

And yet the film hints at what could have been. Fassbender sinks into Harry Hole with his eyes leaving tired behind and now just pleading for relief. Alfredson injects the murder scenes with plenty of eerie build-up followed by short and sharp venom, and the snow-blanketed scenery is gorgeous, augmented by a threatening Marco Beltrami music score. 

The Snowman stands sad in a blizzard, pregnant with promise, missing one ball.



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Movie Review: Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015)

A spy thriller, Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation packs in impressive amounts of glossy action but almost overloads its own plot.

After intercepting a shipment of chemical weapons in Minsk, Ethan Hunt (Tom Cruise) of the Impossible Mission Force travels to London and comes face to face with his nemesis Solomon Lane (Sean Harris), the leader of The Syndicate, an evil global terrorist group. With the unexpected help of undercover British operative Ilsa Faust (Rebecca Ferguson), Hunt escapes Lane's clutches.  Meanwhile CIA Director Hunley (Alec Baldwin) shuts down IMF, much to the disappointment of Hunt's boss Brandt (Jeremy Renner).

Ethan reemerges six months later, calling on his IMF colleague Benji (Simon Pegg) to join him in Vienna where they attempt to prevent an assassination at the Opera House, which leads to a reteaming with Ilsa in Casablanca. The hobbled IMF has to disrupt Lane's nefarious plans to secure access to billions in illicit funds, but Lane always seems to be several steps ahead of his pursuers.

After the spectacular success of 2011's Ghost Protocol, the Mission: Impossible series returns with the still slick but slightly bloated Rogue Nation. Frequent Tom Cruise collaborator Christopher McQuarrie writes and directs this fifth chapter, and delivers the expected non-stop thrills, humour, country-hopping and wild stunt scenes expected of the series. More than ever a James Bond influence creeps in, certainly jazzed up but evident in a rather harried plot and underlined by a knowing emerge-from-the-water-in-a-bikini moment.

At 131 minutes, Rogue Nation does go on. The mandatory MacGuffin in this case has something to do with a triple encrypted digital file stored in a fortified bunker, but overall the story gets more convoluted, less interesting and increasingly blurry by the minute. Better to acknowledge the plot as the flimsiest of excuses to justify the set-pieces, and when it matters McQuarrie and Cruise deliver with eye-popping expertise.

A stand out sequence involve a quadrangular wild motorcycle and car chase, the Mission: Impossible series yet again proving new life can be found in one of the oldest action movie cliches, the rational editing adding immensely to the enjoyment level. Even better is an underwater infiltration to swap a computer card involving exceptional physical exertion laced with humour and late heroics.

The character of Ilsa Faust injects the series with feminine clout and provides Ethan Hunt with a worthwhile counterpart, ally and rival. With Rebecca Ferguson providing plenty of resolute oomph, Ilsa plays a more prominent role than most of the IMF members, with Ving Rhames as Luther Stickell suffering the most notable relegation to the background.

Never pretending to be weighty, Rogue Nation is a fast paced and agile romp through the world of high octane thrills.

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The Movies Of Rebecca Ferguson

All movies starring Rebecca Ferguson and reviewed on the Ace Black Movie Blog are linked below:

Mission: Impossible - Rogue Nation (2015)

Florence Foster Jenkins (2016)

The Girl On The Train (2016)

Life (2017)

The Snowman (2017)

The Greatest Showman (2017)

Mission: Impossible - Fallout (2018)

Dune: Part One (2021)

Dune: Part Two (2024)

A House Of Dynamite (2025)

Mercy (2026)

All Ace Black Movie Blog reviews are here.
The Movie Star Index is here.

Movie Review: The Greatest Showman (2017)

A biographical musical, The Greatest Showman celebrates the life of circus impresario P.T. Barnum.

The son of a tailor and orphaned at a young age, Barnum dreams big and falls in love early with Charity, the daughter of his father's aristocratic client. They stay in touch through her school years, then Barnum (Hugh Jackman) and Charity (Michelle Williams) get married, settle in New York City and have two daughters. When he is laid off from an accounting job at shipping company he risks everything to open a museum of wax figures and stuffed animals.

Business is slow, and his daughters encourage Barnum to add more living things and sensations. He recruits freaks and outcasts, and the museum becomes a big hit but also draws protests and scorn from critic James Bennett (Paul Sparks). Barnum convinces respected playwright Phillip Carlyle (Zac Efron) to join him as a junior partner to help attract a more high brow audience. On a trip to London Barnum recruits Swedish singing sensation  Jenny Lind (Rebecca Ferguson) for a grand tour of the United States. He starts rubbing shoulders with society's elites, but also drift away from Charity.

Directed by Michael Gracey (with an assist from James Mangold, credited as Executive Producer), The Greatest Showman took eight years to make it to the screen but arrived just in time to unabashedly reaffirm diversity's value at a time of social division. While the story is loosely inspired by Barnum's life, the real message is that every person is a treasure, in whatever shape, size, or colour.

The circus world as a whole and Barnum's shows in particular may very well have exploited people who are different. The film skates over the questionable profit motives and instead embraces the opportunity for the outcasts of society to step forward and enjoy the spotlight. The film's feel-good energy stemming from the spirit of the underdog is irresistible.

As for Barnum's story, this is a conventional arc about a man trying to fill the gaping hole in his soul caused by childhood poverty, and stretching beyond what is necessary. Barnum's talent is such that he is successful at whatever he does, but he will need to learn that not all accomplishments equate to increased happiness.

Gracey deserves credit for delivering a relatively content-rich musical without bloat, as The Greatest Showman clocks in at a very reasonable 105 minutes. The musical numbers are surprisingly good, well-timed and short. A Million Dreams, The Other Side and showstopper This Is Me are delivered with joyous conviction, the singing powerful and the choreography simple but effective. In terms of pure artistry, the duet Rewrite The Stars allows Efron and Zendaya (playing Carlyle's potential lover, her skin colour a scandal for his social circle) to literally soar.

The performances are more about enthusiasm than craft, and Jackman does not disappoint with a  high energy portrayal of Barnum fueled by eternal optimism. Williams plays along, less convincing in the singing numbers but credible as the family anchor. Efron and Zendaya offer athletic support.

Uncomplicated, honest and well produced, The Greatest Showman may not be an accurate history lesson but it is an exuberant shout in favour of a society enriched by unique individuality.

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Movie Review: Life (2017)

A horror-in-space thriller, Life borrows heavily from Alien, but still achieves the requisite mix of excitement, tension and some human drama.

On board the International Space Station, a six member crew is on a mission to receive and research a soil sample from Mars that may contain evidence of extraterrestrial life. The team is led by Russian Commander Kat (Olga Dihovichnaya), and includes Japanese pilot Sho (Hiroyuki Sanada) and medical officers David Jordan (Jake Gyllenhaal) and Miranda North (Rebecca Ferguson). Once the capsule containing the sample is retrieved, astrobiologist Hugh Derry (Ariyon Bakare) isolates and revives a single cell organism, the first proof of life beyond Earth.

Dubbed Calvin, the single cell soon multiplies and grows into a tiny creature exhibiting enormous sensory, cognitive and survival abilities. An atmospheric accident causes Calvin to go dormant; Derry awakens it with a mild electric shock, but Calvin is immediately hostile, and attacks Derry's hand, growing bigger. Calvin escapes from its isolation box, consumes a research mouse, and grows bigger again. System Engineer Roy Adams (Ryan Reynolds) fails to incinerate it, and Calvin escapes into the ISS ducts, damaging the communications system. Kat has to conduct a dangerous space walk to attempt repairs, as it becomes clear that Calvin represents a significant threat to the survival of the crew.

Directed by Daniel Espinosa, Life is full of the mounting sense of dread that something awful is going to happen at any minute. The film quickly gets into a groove, and Calvin is established as a powerful foe, stopping at nothing and growing with every gory attack. The film is almost entirely set on the claustrophobic ISS, with communications back to Earth severed early, leaving the crew on their own, tantalizingly close to home but in grave danger of never making it back.

Unlike Alien, Life is almost entirely set in a zero gravity environment, adding to the sense of realism and making movements and reactions more difficult. The crew is also more internationally diverse, although apart from a few jokes not enough is made of the United Nations in space. Within the limits of a relatively short 103 minutes, Espinosa does try and provide some backstories. Jake Gyllenhaal's Dr. Jordan receives the most attention as a long-term ISS tenant and a man who is now more comfortable in orbit rather than on Earth. The pilot Sho gets a more routine new-father-in-space treatment.

Some of the sense of realism is however compromised by the dubious decisions made by the crew. The film's constant search for the next thrill means many actions by the supposedly highly trained scientists and pilots appear rushed and ill-considered, with arguments, shouting and impetuous behaviour often trumping more careful thought.

The horror elements are otherwise well-handled, and feature the usual mix of jump-out-of-your-seat scares and carefully constructed turn-the-screws tension. Calvin emerges as a supremely intelligent and capable creature, perhaps on the edge of credibility even for a science fiction invention, but nevertheless ugly and scary enough to represent an existential threat.

The Life of one newly discovered species could mean the death of many others, and in this space no thing can be more mean.

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Movie Review: The Girl On The Train (2016)

A mystery thriller delving into topics of addiction, abuse, control and mental illness, The Girl On The Train introduces an intriguing premise with plenty of style, but ultimately meanders to a stock conclusion.

Hopelessly addicted to alcohol, Rachel (Emily Blunt) rides the commuter train daily back and forth to Manhattan. On the way she passes the house of her ex-husband Tom (Justin Theroux), who is now married to Anna (Rebecca Ferguson). Tom and Anna carried on an affair behind Rachel's back after she and Tom were unable to conceive. Two doors down and also visible from the train is the house were Megan (Haley Bennett) lives with her husband Scott (Luke Evans). Rachel does not know Megan, but from a distance the relationship between Megan and Scott appears idyllic.

What Rachel doesn't know is that Megan has had a miserable life, and is now seeing psychologist Dr. Kamal Abdic (Édgar Ramírez) to try and hold herself together while she works as a nanny for Tom and Anna. With Rachel descending ever deeper into an alcoholic stupor and apparently harassing Tom and Anna, she spots Megan cuddling with a strange man. When Megan suddenly disappears the same day that Rachel blacks out from too much alcohol, Rachel inserts herself into affairs that apparently do not concern her, and she draws the attention of Detective Riley (Alison Janney), who is investigating Megan's disappearance.

An adaptation of the Paula Hawkins novel directed by Tate Taylor, The Girl On The Train has a good set-up but a relatively limp finish. The idea of a self-doubting alcoholic observing her former life from a passing train and delving into a mystery shrouded in illicit affairs is compelling, and potentially Hitchcockian. For the first two thirds of the film Taylor does a fine job creating a fog of doubt about what is going on, with flashbacks and alternative points of view helping to heighten the interconnected complexities in the lives of Rachel, Megan and Anna. The final third surrenders meekly to the most banal of resolutions, ideas running dry and the mystery defaulting to an unconvincing antagonist and questionable motivations.

The premise is built on the differences between outside appearances and inward realities. The glow of light within a house seen from a passing train suggests cozy relationships and warm comforts. But inside the walls all manners of conflict reside, and what Rachel thinks she longs for does not really exist. In its better moments the film thrives on the differences between perceptions, memories and the historical narratives as seen from different perspectives. The damage caused by alcohol, abusive relationships, and depression spike the film with emotional possibilities.

Emily Blunt carries the weight of Rachel's failed life on her shoulders and is at the centre of the all the film's better moments. She receives limited support, with all the other characters and performances limited in scope and definition. Alison Janney suffers the most, the role of Detective Riley seemingly a poorly developed afterthought.

The Girl On The Train rides through several intriguing stops. Unfortunately the film blows a crass whistle instead of properly exploiting its own possibilities.

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