Gielguld's adaptation is closer to the novel than to the movie, however some elements are different from both, so if you think you know how the story will unfold you will be in for a surprise.
Architect Guy Haines (played by Laurence Fox) wants to divorce his unfaithful wife, Miriam, in order to marry the woman he loves, Anne Faulkner. While on a train on the way to discuss the divorce with his wife, he meets Charles Anthony Bruno (fantastic Jack Huston), a spoilt, rich, mentally unstable man with 'daddy' and 'mummy' issues, who proposes an idea to "exchange murders": Bruno will kill Miriam if Guy kills Bruno's father; neither of them will have a motive and no one will know that they ever met, so the police will have no reason to suspect either of them. Guy does not take Bruno seriously, but Bruno kills Guy's wife while Guy is away and then blackmails Guy to fulfil his end of the 'bargain'.
A bit of a spoiler !
Guy succumbs to the pressure, but after the deed is done Bruno doesn't want to leave him alone and continues showing up disrupting his life. From observing Bruno's very unhealthy almost sensual relationship with his mother Elsie (great Imogen Stubbs) and the way he acts around Guy (jealous of his wife, possessive and obsessed) we can deduce that he is gay and in love with him, this love is the reason the 'perfect murder scheme' falls apart. When we first meet Bruno on the train he is a bit like Raskolnikov from Crime and Punishment convinced of his god-like right to decide the fate of others and backing his theories with pseudo philosophical gibberish, as the story unfolds he changes, yes he is still a psychopath but he realises that the driving force of the world is in fact love, however unlike in Crime and Punishment love in Strangers on the Train does not bring redemption.
Acting is really good, but it is Jack Huston's mad and damaged Bruno that steals every scene, he gives this rather unlikable character depth and human vulnerability that makes us feel pity for him, his equal partner is Imogen Stubbs playing his mother, their scenes together are the highlights of this adaptation. Laurence Fox gives a good performance as a mild mannered and tortured by guilt Guy, Miranda Raison plays Guy's wife Anne with combination of warmth and passion.
The set is amazing, stylish and lavish (at one point it transforms into a fully working merry go round), rotating part of the stage has been divided into sections one showing and others being prepared outside our view, it is done with such speed and precision that I wished I could go behind and have a sneak peak of how it works, my sincere kudos to all involved.
In conclusion Strangers on the Train is definitely worth watching especially now when you can get a good deal on tickets, go and see it for yourself.
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