22.1 C
Byron Shire
March 28, 2024

The Girl on the Train

Latest News

Man charged over domestic violence and pursuit offences – Tweed Heads

A man has been charged following a pursuit near Tweed Heads on Monday.

Other News

Mandy Nolan’s Soapbox: Why Being Seen is Beautiful

There is something profound about being seen. Being accepted and loved for exactly who you are. It’s life changing. It’s simple. It’s transformative. But some people don’t get to experience this. Nearly half of transgender Australians have attempted suicide.That data tells the very real impact of discrimination, stigma and lack of access to gender-affirming surgery. I write this as a woman who was born a woman, who identifies as a woman. I’ll admit, that even in that gender role, that fits within the societal binary, I’ve had my own challenges.

Heavy traffic on M1 predicted over Easter long weekend

Bottlenecks in Northern NSW are predicted to occur at Coffs Harbour and Tugun over the Easter long weekend. This is expected to be further impacted by work on the Pacific Highway just north of the Queensland border.

What the duck!

Most days I ask myself ‘what the duck’ is happening here? How could Trump be president again if he...

Casuarina cricketers too strong for Mullumbimby Brunswick in grand final

Mullumbimby Brunswick Cricket Club (MBCC) had a very successful season finishing second on the ladder at the end of the home and away season with 13 wins and 4 losses, but fell short of winning the grand final against the Casuarina Crocs.

The Picture House is turning 8

It feels like we were only just ringing in the new year days ago and here we are approaching Easter weekend at The Brunswick Picture House. It’s already been a whirlwind start to 2024 with their biggest and busiest program so far, bringing an eclectic mix of some of the hottest stand-up comedy, music gigs, film screenings and cabaret – and that was just last week!

How the coral crisis affects other marine wildlife

Marine heatwaves are killing coral and denuding reefs of their colourful beauty – but in a world where everything is food for something else, these heatwaves also pose a major threat to biodiversity.

The harshest criticism that can be levelled at a film based on a best-selling novel is that it has taken liberties in re-telling the story – that it is unfaithful to the book. Tate Taylor’s adaptation of Paula Hawkins’s hugely successful whodunnit makes a rod for its own back, however, by being so infinitesimally true to its source. Those who have no idea what might have happened to Megan Hipwell, and why, will undoubtedly be held in suspense by Erin Cressida Wilson’s taut and faultlessly constructed script, whereas those of us only too well aware of her fate will be watching to see if Taylor ‘gets it right’ (it was also the case, for me, with Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl, to which this is not entirely dissimilar).

The only change that has been made, and it is purely cosmetic, is that the events now take place in upstate New York rather than outer London. Rachel (Emily Blunt) is a woman on the skids – divorced, unemployed and sinking into alcoholism. She fantasises over the perfect life of Megan (Haley Bennett), whom she sees every day from the train that she rides to the city. That Megan had been employed as a nanny by Anna (Rebecca Ferguson), the new wife of Rachel’s ex-husband Tom (Justin Theroux), and that they happen to live in the same street is a coincidence that seems steeper on screen than it did on the page, so as a psycho-drama much depends on Blunt’s performance.

The weight of the story is entirely on her shoulders, with Megan’s voracious but fragile sexuality not fully explored and Anna reduced to bit-player status. Fortunately, Blunt is up to the task, taking you with Rachel through her splintered reality. If the final revenge scene of feminist brutalism is not quite believable – what Anna does is almost comical – don’t blame the director. Hawkins wrote it exactly like that and it didn’t ring true to me when I read it, but it brought the house down at the screening I attended.


Support The Echo

Keeping the community together and the community voice loud and clear is what The Echo is about. More than ever we need your help to keep this voice alive and thriving in the community.

Like all businesses we are struggling to keep food on the table of all our local and hard working journalists, artists, sales, delivery and drudges who keep the news coming out to you both in the newspaper and online. If you can spare a few dollars a week – or maybe more – we would appreciate all the support you are able to give to keep the voice of independent, local journalism alive.

LEAVE A REPLY

Please enter your comment!
Please enter your name here

Where should affordable housing go in Tweed Shire?

Should affordable and social housing in the Tweed Shire be tucked away in a few discreet corners? Perhaps it should be on the block next to where you live?

Making Lismore Showground accessible to everyone

The Lismore Showground isn’t just a critical local community asset that plays host to a number of major events each year, but has also been used as an evacuation centre during past natural disasters in the region. 

Iconic Lennox beach shed upgraded –  not demolished

Lennox Park and the shelter shed has now been upgraded and reopened.

Govt cost-shifting ‘erodes financially sustainable local government’

Byron Shire Council looks set to add its voice to the growing chorus calling on the state government to stop shifting responsibilities and costs onto local government.