YOU are in for a bumpy ride with The Girl On The Train.

It is a story about grief, loss, relationships in tatters and skeletons in the closet all wrapped in a murder mystery. Suffice to say there is not much light at the end of the tunnel.

The film, based on the Paula Hawkins bestseller, sees Rachel’s (Emily Blunt) life derail after her husband Tom (Justin Theroux) divorces her. Sitting on the train each day she passes the house they used to live in and obsesses over the past.

Tom continues to live there but with his new wife Anna (Rebecca Ferguson) and daughter. But Rachel, who has turned to alcohol to cope, also spies on couple Scott (Luke Evans) and Megan (Haley Bennett) two doors down who appear to have the perfect life.

The story swaps between the three women Rachel, Anna and Megan, whose lives are connected, and the film flashes back to various points before the disappearance of a key character. The split narrative and the film’s jigsaw feel makes The Girl On The Train stand out and keeps you engaged until the final stop.

Blunt is excellent as a scorned woman, grief stricken and driven by rage, but whose version of events is becoming hazy because of the booze. And it is easy to relate to the general tone that the grass is not always greener on the other side.

Like Gone Girl, this is a celebrated book that the producers wanted to turn into a big movie event. It does not quite live up to the hype but remains a captivating thriller that does not go off the tracks.

RATING: 7/10

DAVID MORGAN