Tanya Batson-Savage, Freelance Writer
Clive Owen (left) and Jennifer Aniston star in the movie 'Derailed'. - CONTRIBUTED
DERAILED, starring Clive Owen and Jennifer Aniston, may not provide you with the ride of your life, but it is at least an enjoyable journey that gives enough twists and turns to keep you glued to your seat.
Directed by Michael Håfström, Derailed is based on a James Seigel novel from which Stuart Beattie (who also wrote Pirates of the Caribbean and Collateral) creates a good screenplay. The flick plays out the curse, may you live in interesting times. It also comes with something of a moral that adultery can kill.
Charles Shine (played by Clive Owen) was on his way through a very ordinary morning of his life when he had an unexpected encounter with Lucinda Harris (played by Jennifer Aniston).
TAKEN OFF LIFE'S TRACK
Though the incident initially seemed as though the gods of serendipity and adultery were smiling at them, the adventure which followed would take the two well off their life's track.
Derailed takes Aniston several comfortable steps away from her defining role as Rachel on television's Friends and should do a lot more for her career than Rumour Has It. She gives a very sophisticated performance in Derailed and shows herself an actress with potential.
Vincent Cassel makes a good villain as Phillipe LaRoche. The cast is also enhanced by performances by Giancarlo Esposito (Detective Church) and RZA (Winston). Giancarlo Esposito plays a supporting role and it is probably the best he's been able to add to his résumé, and it also helps that his hair is a lot less greasy than usual.
DARK AND GRITTY
Derailed makes good food for thought about betrayal, trust and standing up for yourself. Håfström does a good job with direction. He keeps the picture dark and gritty for the most part and allows the story to build to a quick pace as the suspense builds toward an intriguing end filled with sufficient surprise.
Even so, the movie fails to be emotionally arresting because one cannot identify with Charles enough to feel sorry for him. Though his life seems ordinary enough, it does not appear to be so boring that he would toss it aside. It is therefore easy to lump him into the 'men are dogs' theory, which automatically lessons our sympathy for his plight.
Fortunately, the plot is engaging enough that we don't have to depend on sympathy to enjoy the flick. Additionally, though Charles might not be able to earn the sympathy card, the story spends sufficient time showing his character and his family life that one can understand the difficulty of the choices that he has to make.
Essentially, Derailed makes no pretension of being a moralistic tale. However, it does make you realise that if you are going to cheat you should be protected, and not just with prophylactics. Either way, it's a good ride.
