The Girl on the Train

Synopsis: The Girl on the Train is the story of Rachel Watson's life post-divorce. Every day, she takes the train in to work in New York, and every day the train passes by her old house. The house she lived in with her husband, who still lives there, with his new wife and child. As she attempts to not focus on her pain, she starts watching a couple who live a few houses down -- Megan and Scott Hipwell. She creates a wonderful dream life for them in her head, about how they are a perfect happy family. And then one day, as the train passes, she sees something shocking, filling her with rage. The next day, she wakes up with a horrible hangover, various wounds and bruises, and no memory of the night before. She has only a feeling: something bad happened. Then come the TV reports: Megan Hipwell is missing. Rachel becomes invested in the case and trying to find out what happened to Megan, where she is, and what exactly she herself was up to that same night Megan went missing.
Genre: Crime, Drama, Mystery
Director(s): Tate Taylor
Production: Universal Pictures
  Nominated for 1 BAFTA Film Award. Another 4 wins & 10 nominations.
 
IMDB:
6.5
Metacritic:
48
Rotten Tomatoes:
45%
R
Year:
2016
112 min
$75,311,445
3,392 Views


1.

INT./EXT. TRAIN, ARDSLEY-ON-HUDSON, NEW YORK - MORNING

We hear a train’s mournful clatter as trees flash by and then

the train itself passes in a silvery streak.

A woman draws an “x” on her foggy window-- looking out

through it directly at us:

This is RACHEL and she is THE GIRL ON THE TRAIN.

RACHEL (SOFT V.O.)

...My husband used to tell me I

have an overactive imagination. I

can’t help it. I mean, haven’t you

ever been on a train and wondered

about the lives of the people who

live near the tracks? The lives

you’ve never lived.

RACHEL’S POV:
Out the window: A series of backyards slowly

passes:

A MAN walks towards his front yard.

An OLDER MAN works on a vintage car in his yard.

CHILDREN slide down playground equipment.

A LONE BOY throws a ball. His dog chases after it.

CUT TO:

TITLE:
RACHEL

RACHEL (V.O.)

These are things I want to know.

Rachel sits alone, sketching in a small notebook.

CLOSE ON:
Rachel’s expectant eyes as the train begins to

slow.

RACHEL (V.O.)

... Twice a day I sit in the third

car from the front where I have the

perfect view into my favorite

house:
Number 15 Beckett Road...

RACHEL’S POV:
Standing on the upstairs deck of a house, a

gorgeous blonde, MEGAN, wears a light opened robe with only

white underwear and bra underneath. She stretches her back

like a cat. Her curved silhouette is intoxicating.

The train comes to a brief stop at the station and, outside

the other window, Rachel can see work crews fixing the

tracks. And beyond them, the Hudson River.

(CONTINUED)

2.

CONTINUED:

RACHEL (V.O.)

...I don’t know when exactly. I

suppose I started noticing her

about a year ago and, gradually, as

the months went past, she became

important to me...

As the train creeps forward RACHEL SPOTS--

A BLUE HOUSE WITH A WHITE PICKET FENCE...

...She quickly averts her eyes from the view of the house--

repressing an inner pain. Focusing on her sketch book.

Rachel’s eyes land on a MAN IN A SUIT, red hair, 50, pasty

and plain-- typing on a laptop. He looks up at Rachel. There

is something disconcerting about the exchange.

RACHEL (V.O.)

I’m not the girl I used to be. I

think people can see it on my face.

INT. TRAIN - NIGHT

Rachel’s profile has flipped: she now rides in the opposite

direction, on the EVENING TRAIN.

She watches the familiar houses glide past.

RACHEL’S POV:
This evening, Megan sits with her equally

beautiful husband, SCOTT next to a backyard fire pit.

Each holds a glass of wine. The roaring fire glows on their

faces as they watch the passing train.

SCOTT spins Megan around and begins to kiss her.

RACHEL (V.O.)

She’s what I lost. She’s everything

I want to be...

Rachel returns to her sketchbook.

INT. TRAIN - NEXT MORNING

Headed back to New York, Rachel POV: Rachel stares at the

burnt out fire pit behind 15 Beckett Road.

Megan is on the balcony in her robe while Scott rakes leaves.

CLOSE ON:
Scott as he looks up from raking and seems to look

directly at Rachel.

3.

INT. GRAND CENTRAL TERMINAL - MORNING

Rachel’s train arrives and she wades through a sea of

commuters in the Grand Hall. She wears a plain dress and

carries a work satchel.

STATION ANNOUNCER (O.S.)

...now departing track nineteen,

upper level.

INT. GRAND CENTRAL TERMINAL - MOMENTS LATER

Rachel sits in a row of chairs getting her shoes shined.

She’s the only woman among eight male customers.

Rachel sketches in her sketch book and sips from a squirt

bottle.

RACHEL (V.O.)

...I imagine she’s a painter...

She’s creative.

CLOSE ON SKETCH PAD: We see Rachel’s hand at work as she

produces a beautiful images of Megan and Scott.

Rate this script:4.0 / 1 vote

Erin Cressida Wilson

Erin Cressida Wilson is an American playwright, screenwriter, professor, and author. Wilson is known for the 2002 film Secretary, which she adapted from a Mary Gaitskill short story. more…

All Erin Cressida Wilson scripts | Erin Cressida Wilson Scripts

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