The Girl on the Train - Love Triangulation

 

The Girl on the Train

2021, Hindi

Director - Ribhu Dasgupta

Stars - Parineeti Chopra, Aditi Rao Hydari, Kirti Kulhari, Avinash Tiwary

 

Mohan's Measure ⭐

 

In the years following Independence, Bollywoid found home in American crime dramas. Thrillers were more film noir, drawing from the morality plays about crime and justice in light of honor and existentialism.  Such greats like CID and Howrah Bridge are excellent examples of how these models worked in producing fine film.

 

But, the noir age in America has come to a close, and with it India has turned to a new model for its movie-making, the psychological thriller.  The South Indian ones work seem to have it figured out best, with regional culture and superstitions serving as backdrop to creepy tales of psychopaths and the disturbed who chase them.

 

Bollywood, however,, seems to have a ways to go.  The Girl on the Train is the Bollywood rendition of an American movie of the same name.  It attempts to want to scare us into believing it is a thriller, but winds up fizzling out as a poorly written, and all the more poorly acted, dark drama

 

Ms. Chopra does a fine job playing a drunk, but one who is being gaslighted goes far past her acting skills. Mr. Tiwary as the untrustworthy husband is stiff as a board throughout, challenging us to believe his character by pouring out lines like a nervous teenager in a high-school stage play.  Ms. Hydari's portrayal of the innocent victim makes her play a character she knows all too well; something that can only be likened to a "deer in the headlights."

The only person who seems to be taking herself seriously is Ms. Kulhari, but her portrayal as a tough cop is jilted by a convoluted ending.  

 

The end credits are the best part of this film.