Two things.
Firstly, the "third man" was extremely predictable, and I mean from at least 50 minutes prior to the reveal. I hoped it wouldn't be that obvious but it was. Tom being the killer may be logical but it's also lame. This is supposed to be a mystery, not a 5-dime potboiler. I mean, come on... The guy shtooped the promiscuous nanny, not like it didn't happen a million times before. (Admittedly, he hired her as a nanny after the fact, which is an original touch.) It had to be him, and I mean even BEFORE someone mentioned a "third man".
Secondly, and this is the bigger drawback, the obligatory stoopid thriller ending had to (somewhat) ruin an otherwise good movie. Rachel does literally everything wrong, for example by going to Anna instead of reporting everything to the police once she realized she was innocent. Extremely predictably, Tom gets a chance to kill everybody who is in his way, which is pretty far-fetched, and a bit too much of a windfall for such a dumb, impulsive murderer. Both Anna and Rachel make all the convenient/contrived wrong decisions at the end, endangering their own lives. Still, even this situation he manages to botch.
Yup, crime thrillers films ALWAYS have to end dumb. Always. This isn't even a proper thriller, at least not the first 80 minutes aren't - it's a crime drama mystery - but once a Hollywood movie goes into thriller mode, watch out: you've just entered the Land of the Stoopid & the Far-Fetched, just in order for (dim-witted) audiences (who don't know better hence don't deserve better) can get a few cheap thrills before the credits roll.
Come on, that dumb scene with Rachel screaming "murderer!", banging at Tom's door. Sure, she's unstable, but must she be dumb too? You know what they say, "just because someone is crazy doesn't mean they're dumb".
Then again, the way the two women "jointly" kill Tom has a touch of originality about it, I have to admit, as does the fact that the two fierce rivals were united at the end.
Another nice touch is the irony of the "other woman" herself becoming the cheated wife who has to deal with a new "other woman", the next in line. It never ceases to amaze me whenever women get "promoted" from being the "other woman" to becoming the wife - then are shocked when the guy later cheats on her, repeating the adulterous pattern. Poetic justice, with a touch of absurdity: women being amazed that the same could happen to them.
There are some inconsistencies in the first 80 minutes, while this is still a mystery drama. The most glaring one: WHY would the shrink be at Meghan's house? He makes house calls? And how convenient for the two to hug just as Rachel is watching the house from the train window. Fine... Coincidences always find their way into such scripts, but this big coincidence is made even more implausible by the illogic of the shrink's presence at her home. And they hug in plain view of the neighbours? Not realistic. This is assuming Megan and the shrink didn't consummate their "affair", which the movie is - very surprisingly - not clear about.
Just as weird is that Rachel was able to observe so much detail from a moving train, which is at quite a distance from the houses she'd been spying on.
I am a bit peeved that the movie cheats its audiences by making us believe that Rachel was the violent loose cannon, instead of Tom. Sure, he lied to her about these things, about her alleged drunken violence which it turns out never happened, but this was shown in way that cheated the viewer, i.e. We never got a fair chance at having the whole picture. And yet, despite this "cheating" I (and presumably many other film-goers) were able to figure out that Tom was the killer.
Another wild coincidence is that Tom hits his ex Rachel at the exact day when Meghan reveals her pregnancy. To the movie's credit he didn't go out of his way to kill her right away after being told this, but simply told her to get an abortion and was on his way. Yet, somehow Meghan initiated a big fracas needlessly and even gets physical by pushing Tom, which of course leads to her demise. It's a bit much that Tom gets to attack two women within a short space of time, at the same day, especially since he isn't a serial-killer but a one-off murderer. But hey, these things are typical plot-devices in stories of this type.
The mystery is set up very nicely though, and the characterization and character motivations were almost - dare I say - elaborate and intelligent, especially for a modern-day American crime mystery. By all logic and odds, this should have been a far dumber film. Instead, Meghan's and Rachel's characters weren't one-dimensional but complex and fully explained. The female cast is quite above-average for modern-day American movies, so I have no complaints there at all. If it weren't, I'd have very probably skipped the film anyway because I have no more patience for lousy casting, thespianic incompetence, and unattractive female protagonists.
Normally, I don't watch these kinds of films, but I was mislead by the synopsis to believe this might have elements of fantasy. But it turned out alright, despite some flaws in an otherwise very solid script. The dialog and characterization were above average, some of the basic twists not so much.
Firstly, the "third man" was extremely predictable, and I mean from at least 50 minutes prior to the reveal. I hoped it wouldn't be that obvious but it was. Tom being the killer may be logical but it's also lame. This is supposed to be a mystery, not a 5-dime potboiler. I mean, come on... The guy shtooped the promiscuous nanny, not like it didn't happen a million times before. (Admittedly, he hired her as a nanny after the fact, which is an original touch.) It had to be him, and I mean even BEFORE someone mentioned a "third man".
Secondly, and this is the bigger drawback, the obligatory stoopid thriller ending had to (somewhat) ruin an otherwise good movie. Rachel does literally everything wrong, for example by going to Anna instead of reporting everything to the police once she realized she was innocent. Extremely predictably, Tom gets a chance to kill everybody who is in his way, which is pretty far-fetched, and a bit too much of a windfall for such a dumb, impulsive murderer. Both Anna and Rachel make all the convenient/contrived wrong decisions at the end, endangering their own lives. Still, even this situation he manages to botch.
Yup, crime thrillers films ALWAYS have to end dumb. Always. This isn't even a proper thriller, at least not the first 80 minutes aren't - it's a crime drama mystery - but once a Hollywood movie goes into thriller mode, watch out: you've just entered the Land of the Stoopid & the Far-Fetched, just in order for (dim-witted) audiences (who don't know better hence don't deserve better) can get a few cheap thrills before the credits roll.
Come on, that dumb scene with Rachel screaming "murderer!", banging at Tom's door. Sure, she's unstable, but must she be dumb too? You know what they say, "just because someone is crazy doesn't mean they're dumb".
Then again, the way the two women "jointly" kill Tom has a touch of originality about it, I have to admit, as does the fact that the two fierce rivals were united at the end.
Another nice touch is the irony of the "other woman" herself becoming the cheated wife who has to deal with a new "other woman", the next in line. It never ceases to amaze me whenever women get "promoted" from being the "other woman" to becoming the wife - then are shocked when the guy later cheats on her, repeating the adulterous pattern. Poetic justice, with a touch of absurdity: women being amazed that the same could happen to them.
There are some inconsistencies in the first 80 minutes, while this is still a mystery drama. The most glaring one: WHY would the shrink be at Meghan's house? He makes house calls? And how convenient for the two to hug just as Rachel is watching the house from the train window. Fine... Coincidences always find their way into such scripts, but this big coincidence is made even more implausible by the illogic of the shrink's presence at her home. And they hug in plain view of the neighbours? Not realistic. This is assuming Megan and the shrink didn't consummate their "affair", which the movie is - very surprisingly - not clear about.
Just as weird is that Rachel was able to observe so much detail from a moving train, which is at quite a distance from the houses she'd been spying on.
I am a bit peeved that the movie cheats its audiences by making us believe that Rachel was the violent loose cannon, instead of Tom. Sure, he lied to her about these things, about her alleged drunken violence which it turns out never happened, but this was shown in way that cheated the viewer, i.e. We never got a fair chance at having the whole picture. And yet, despite this "cheating" I (and presumably many other film-goers) were able to figure out that Tom was the killer.
Another wild coincidence is that Tom hits his ex Rachel at the exact day when Meghan reveals her pregnancy. To the movie's credit he didn't go out of his way to kill her right away after being told this, but simply told her to get an abortion and was on his way. Yet, somehow Meghan initiated a big fracas needlessly and even gets physical by pushing Tom, which of course leads to her demise. It's a bit much that Tom gets to attack two women within a short space of time, at the same day, especially since he isn't a serial-killer but a one-off murderer. But hey, these things are typical plot-devices in stories of this type.
The mystery is set up very nicely though, and the characterization and character motivations were almost - dare I say - elaborate and intelligent, especially for a modern-day American crime mystery. By all logic and odds, this should have been a far dumber film. Instead, Meghan's and Rachel's characters weren't one-dimensional but complex and fully explained. The female cast is quite above-average for modern-day American movies, so I have no complaints there at all. If it weren't, I'd have very probably skipped the film anyway because I have no more patience for lousy casting, thespianic incompetence, and unattractive female protagonists.
Normally, I don't watch these kinds of films, but I was mislead by the synopsis to believe this might have elements of fantasy. But it turned out alright, despite some flaws in an otherwise very solid script. The dialog and characterization were above average, some of the basic twists not so much.