I ride the exact same train line featured in this movie...
...and to the same destination as Michael (Tarrytown). I don't ride it every day, but often enough that it was a lot of fun to pick apart what was true to life and where they took artistic license for the movie. Any other Metro North commuters here?
The main thing they got right was the interior of the train, except for the bathroom, which is the exact same model in use (an older model, but still in use) on the real life Metro North. The tables where they were playing cards were added in, though. I've never seen that happening. Nor is it common for the commuters to be that familiar with each other and with the conductors. And the real train is not as crowded as they made it seem in the movie, though, you do occasionally have to stand. The conductors' uniforms and the little paper "seat checks" that Michael was using to try and identify Prin, are accurate, but not the poster that told him what zone each number represented. The extra fee for buying a ticket on the train is accurate. Even the voice you briefly hear over the PA system at the train station is accurate, although, they didn't film on the real Grand Central Station platform for some reason. Similarly, Tarrytown is obviously a real station on that line, but they filmed a different, more deserted-looking station to represent Tarrytown in the movie. The strangest thing is that the first few stops the train makes in the movie are subway stations, which are totally separate from the commuter train system featured. The first stop out of Grand Central in real life is the Harlem 125th station where the guy gets pushed in front of the bus.
All in all a fun movie, especially if you ride that train!
Now, if only the lovely Vera Farmiga would come sit across from me on my next commute...