The Commuter, which is now playing in general release, is top-shelf entertainment, with nail-biting suspense, captivating mystery, and loads of visual imagination. It confirms that Jaume Collet-Serra (Non-Stop, Run All Night, The Shallows) is one of the best genre directors working today. The film features one inspired set piece after another; Collet-Serra takes great pleasure in moviemaking, and his enjoyment is infectious. That the story is wildly implausible doesn’t detract from the immense satisfaction it has to offer. Rather, the narrative operates under a certain dream logic that’s wholly cinematic, and Collet-Serra delivers it with such emotional conviction that one gets absorbed regardless of the obvious plot holes. I’d be delighted if a more purely enjoyable movie gets released this year.
Collet-Serra makes the most of this Hitchcockian set-up, creating simmering suspense with virtually every shot. Each stranger on the train has the potential to be either MacCauley’s target or a murderous spy, and MacCauley has only so much time to figure out who’s who. There are times when his enemies reveal themselves to him, and these moments make for some of The Commuter’s most exciting passages. Several deadly fights take place on board the train, and Collet-Serra stages each one differently, finding new ways to frame and stage action within a relatively limited space. One fight transpires in a remarkable long-take that comprises the most impressive single shot I’ve seen in quite a while: the camera moves gracefully and constantly reframes the action as MacCauley and his opponent vie for the upper hand. At other times, Collet-Serra and De Toth build suspense through rapid—but never disorienting—cuts, as in a passage where MacCauley, having briefly gotten off the train, struggles to get back on while the vehicle gains speed.
