Review of Derailed (2002) by Roland D — 10 Jul 2010

Derailed review.

This film was on my want to see list for ages, having finally got round to watching it, I can honestly say that I genuinely like this movie.

The film follows the story of despondent and frustrated ad man, Charles Schine ( Clive Owen ) who embarks on an affair with Jennifer Anistons character Lucinda Harris. During a tryst between the two in a seedy hotel room, they are both robbed at gunpoint by LaRoche ( Vincent Cassel ) and in a fairly disturbing scene, Lucinda is subsequently raped by the violent thief.

The robbery results in a black mail plot with twists along the way, albeit a little predictable.

Lead actor, Clive Owen is excellent throughout. I dont think the film would have been half as effective with a stereotypical Hollywood lead male. Although with a slightly suspect American accent, Owen plays the broken man look very well ( frankly, only really achieved by a serious English actor ) and genuinely adds realism to the film.

Aniston is surprisingly good. Anyone who watches this movie and expects to see her career defining Friends character Rachel parading across the screen will be disappointed. You will also find that the producers have worked very hard to achieve this. Her hair is dyed and she is dressed in power suits, a look that gives her depth and a finished article that is far removed from her previous work.

Vincent Cassels character is played well. Vincent is in my opinion a highly under rated French actor and I am a big fan. He does baddie better than anything and despite his violent character in this film, he steals scenes throughout.

This gripping thriller, as all thrillers should, twists and turns and runs along at pace and is totally watchable. On the negative, I couldnt help but think that a little more time should have been spent examining the relationship between Owens character and his on-screen wife Deanna ( ex Home & Away star Melissa Bell ). Ironically enough, these scenes were filmed but it was decided by the director that these should be banished to the land of deleted scenes, available on the DVD. I believe the plot suffers because of this.

In addition to this, the penultimate scene was lost on me, it did nothing to round off the film and raised more questions than it answered. As good a film as this is, a tell-tale of the story I find is in the movie soundtrack CD. Bizarrely the CD is 80% hip hop and is completely disconnected from the film, you have to wonder how the studio viewed the movie content when they released the soundtrack. Gangster flick this isnt.

Derailed is, for want of a better word, sexy, but in a non sexual sense. It is filmed in a clear light which keeps it looking stark and cool, not dark and depressing. Is there a moral to the movie ? Yes I suppose so, dont accept candy from strangers springs to mind or maybe play with matches etc etc.

I recommend this film, if anything just to see Aniston test her metal in a rare, serious role. 5 stars.

Roland Daniels.