"Girl on the Train" is the adaptation of the famous detective novel by Paula Hawkins. I haven’t read the book, but I enjoyed the film as it made me reflect.
The protagonist is a completely broken person: an alcoholic stalker who can’t accept her ex-husband’s happy married life.
Every day she passes by his house on the train, watching the perfect loving couple nearby.. It might have continued like this forever if the charming blonde from the neighboring house hadn’t disappeared...
I’ll now spoil the plot. What makes this film appealing to a psychologist, aside from the entertainment value of a detective story?
It’s an excellent example of gaslighting, which essentially drives the mystery and its resolution.
Gaslighting is a form of psychological abuse where the abuser denies the victim’s reality. This includes denying facts ("It never happened"), denying emotions ("You’re imagining it"), and emphasizing that something is wrong with the victim, even to the point of mental illness.
Over time, the victim begins to rely not on their own feelings or memories but on what the dominant person tells them.
Often, an outsider sees a strange situation: in a couple, there’s a healthy, constructive person, "a very nice person," but alongside them is a hysterical monster. The truth is that such an abuser destroys the victim’s personality.
Because the foundations of our existence are undermined—the reliance on ourselves and our own feelings.
A similar process occurs in various sects. For example, this is the basis of L. Ron Hubbard’s teachings. (I once studied this topic and read the memoirs of a former Scientologist.) Psychological control over a person is achieved through mandatory auditing sessions (one-on-one communication between a follower and a higher-ranking sect member).
In psychological practice, it’s important not to impose your own beliefs or advice on the client. When an untrained psychologist tries to impose their worldview on a client, it reminds me of a sectarian auditing session.
Of course, this is a simplified approach with nuances, but the main point today is: listen to yourself, trust yourself.
It’s clear that maintaining a glossy facade is difficult without flaw, and the dark side of a person’s personality often breaks through the social mask. In the film, this very aspect becomes the key that allows the protagonist not only to solve the murder mystery but also to reclaim herself.
