Sick Product of a Sick System

brilliant actors, brilliant editing

Although I seem to have had higher expectations than I thought, the movie is super entertaining.

Mostly, the movie is committed to the value of a good time.

Derailed (2005): Dir: Mikael Hafstrom / Cast: Clive Owen, Jennifer Aniston, Vincent Cassel, Melissa George, RZA: Standard thriller about circumstances that take unexpected turns. Clive Owens plays a married businessman whose daughter is diabetic. He encounters Jennifer Aniston on a train and an affair follows soon after. Unfortunately for them an assailant breaks into their hotel room and makes off with their money thus leading to hellish circumstances for Owen when demands for more cash follow. Effective setup but the big plot surprise isn't overly surprising plus the conclusion is totally contrived. Directed by Mikael Hafstrom with flair, but his screenwriter cannot match him and instead opts for formula driven drivel that is a yawner. Owen is sympathetic despite being guilty, but Aniston is not as interesting as the film attempts to make her out to be. We are suppose to be aroused by her sense of sexuality and the roughness of her attack but intelligent viewers will arrive at Owen's conclusion long before he does. Flat supporting roles by Vincent Cassel as the villain who pretty much remains one note throughout the rest of the film, and Melissa George as Owen's wife who exists more for plot convenience than as a human being. Themes bypassed for its strong sexual peepshow that is only a tad more entertaining than the average porn presentation. Score: 4 ½ / 10

Question: Do you generally like thrillers? If the answer is 'Yes' then you should appreciate this. It's nothing special, but there's just about enough to it to warrant investing an hour and a half of your time into it. Sure, you may not remember it in twenty years, but I think you'll be entertained nonetheless.For a start you have two decent leads – Clive Owen and Jennifer Aniston and they always turn in pretty decent performances. They play a couple of high-flying city executives who meet by coincidence on a train and begin an affair. Let's just say things go downhill for the pair of them pretty soon after that.You may notice that I'm steering clear of mentioning too much about the plot. Basically, the reason is that the plot – although nothing absolutely amazing – is one of the film's selling points. If I told you too much about what happens, it would definitely detract from the film's enjoyment as you'd probably start guessing (correctly) what was going to happen.There's enough to it to raise it above the masses of 'straight-to-DVD' B-movies out there. Fans of the two leads will obviously enjoy it more and anyone who likes something just that little bit tense should be entertained by it.Obviously, there are a couple of moments where you may find yourself yelling at the screen, "But I wouldn't do that!" You're just going to have to accept that on-screen characters don't always do what we would. Don't let it ruin the film for you. It's better than a few nit-picked gripes with the overall plot.Nothing too special, just solid.

2005's "Derailed" tells the story of a man (Clive Owen) who's obviously lost passion for his wife and is dealing with the stress of a daughter with serious medical problems. On the train to work he starts a relationship with a woman (Jennifer Aniston) which slowly veers toward adultery. Things go from bad to worse. Vincent Cassel is featured as the love-to-hate villain.I mainly judge films by whether or not they pull you in and hold your attention. "Derailed" does this in spades. I was also impressed with the writing. Although another reviewer panned the writing as "unbelievable tripe" and "horribly written" the story struck me in a totally opposite manner. Okay, maybe parts of the story are unbelievable, in particular the ending's prison surprise, but how many movies today are truly believable? Some have criticized the story as predictable but I was surprised and impressed by the turns the film takes. And I never saw it coming.I'm not going to say anymore because the less you know the better. Stay away from the reviews that (without warning) give away the entire plot!"Derailed" is a top-of-the-line thriller/drama.GRADE: A

5/10 Good story line but not something you will rave about to your friends the next day.The story had a lot of potential but the slow start and really weak and unrealistic ending really brought the movie down. The ending was so ill thought out it was comical.The affair couple have the same expression on their face the entire movie; dull personality and dull expressions.It's a decent movie to have a quiet night at home and relax to with a glass of wine with a loved one. Chances of the male falling asleep are about 65%. I struggled to keep my man awake for the first half of the movie.To sum it up; if its free and there is nothing else on give it a go, if you miss it you aren't missing out on much.