Ah, the private torment of the 'secret' alcoholic - which really isn't a secret at all, which makes things even worse, and has you reaching for the Vodka. Emily Blunt is excellent as Rachel Watson, the main character, in this terrific adaption of Paula Hawkins' successful debut novel of the same name. The skin-crawling description of Watson's daily nightmare is recreated with equal relish here by director Tate Taylor. The moving of events from recognisable English suburbia to America works a lot better than I had anticipated, helped by a cast of actors from both sides of the Atlantic.
Happily, Blunt's excellence does not exist in isolation. The ex-husband, the other woman, the other other woman, her ex and the splendid DS Riley (Allison Janney) all utterly convince as a nest of truly flawed characters. Their rough edges keep things interesting and stop events ever sinking into the melodrama they might otherwise have done. Watson's hapless stumbling leads her into and out of trouble, her condition never allowing us to take too seriously any of her wilder accusations. Which is interesting, as some of them may be true ...
A fascinating drama then, beautifully shot, both as an adaption and in its own right.
Happily, Blunt's excellence does not exist in isolation. The ex-husband, the other woman, the other other woman, her ex and the splendid DS Riley (Allison Janney) all utterly convince as a nest of truly flawed characters. Their rough edges keep things interesting and stop events ever sinking into the melodrama they might otherwise have done. Watson's hapless stumbling leads her into and out of trouble, her condition never allowing us to take too seriously any of her wilder accusations. Which is interesting, as some of them may be true ...
A fascinating drama then, beautifully shot, both as an adaption and in its own right.