'The Girl on the Train': A Train Wreck of an Adaptation, Aided by Bad Acting, Sloppy Direction Paula Hawkinsâ novel was an intense seesawing thriller. Ribhu Dasgupta's film butchers it. A still from Ribhu Dasgupta's 'Girl on the Train'. Film27/Feb/2021 Adapting a popular novel into a feature film has an inherent safety net, because even if the making is sloppy, the foundation is solid: a good story. But some recent adaptations, such as The White Tiger, dent that notion. Now Ribhu Dasguptaâs Netflix film, The Girl on the Train, adapted from Paula Hawkinsâ bestselling novel of the same name, lowers the bar so much that the ground recoils in second-hand embarrassment.