Entgleist

Don't miss "Derailed". It is far from a big production, yet its twists and turmoil grip the spectator and force him to highly concentrate and attach to the movie's agitated rhythm. The Neanderthal chemistry between the couple of Owen and Anniston, translates to off screen, giving a satisfactory acting result, although individually many faults can be advised. Vincent Cassel plays the thief with a chilling magnitude."The book manipulates the reader so he cannot advise what is coming next", says Owen's character to her daughter, while analyzing a book together, as a hidden preface. Mikael Häfstrøm (who is quite unknown) cuts into the Hollywood formula and plays with the character psychological aspects while dipping and destroying their life's with certain Hitchcock reminiscences- Don't be confused; this thriller follows the book of Hollywood and has it's own particularities. Now, if you like fast, exciting rides where you remain in the dark and eager to know, this movie is for you. Otherwise, if you like intellectual films; maybe you won't pack to "rail in" to this movie.

Derailed is directed by Mikael Håfström and adapted to screenplay by Stuart Beattie from James Siegel's novel. It stars Clive Owen, Jennifer Aniston, Vincent Cassell, Melissa George and RZA. Music is scored by Ed Shearmur and cinematography by Peter Biziou.

Charles (Owen) and Lucinda (Aniston) meet on a commuter train and in spite of the fact they are married, start flirting. Ending up in a hotel one night, they're beaten and robbed by LaRoche (Cassell) who promptly starts blackmailing Charles......

There's a decent thriller in the mix here, if only it had had a director able to hide the surprises and a writer capable of not making his male protagonist such an unlikable git! It's a shame because the premise is a good one, and there are good performances from an agreeable cast. Film essentially asks us to root for Charles as he battles with a reoccurring villain of some nastiness (Cassell genuinely unnerving), yet not only is he a love cheat (a lovely wife at home and a very sick daughter), he also makes ridiculous errors of judgement. While the holes in logic for some sequences are bafflingly poor. Still, it does have thrills and it doesn't soft soap the violence. Taken on popcorn thriller terms, it's above average and worth a watch, but it's not half as clever as it thinks it is. 6/10

I saw a sneak preview of this film yesterday in Toronto (Younge & Eglington Theatre) There are some "cheesy" moments but I'm happy to say that they are far and few between.

The acting is not academy-award winning but you will be pleased with the performances.

It is an engaging film that brings you into a dark and gritty underworld that actually can feel quite real at times. You feel for the lead character.

One of the strengths of this film is character development.

It also has some twists that may actually surprise you in a good way.

I think the real downfall of this film is that it has a "Hollywood" ending. For me the film loses points for this.

One final note: the climax, although still good, was pieced together in such a way that it did not hold the tension enough for the theater audience. There was laughter and some heckling in my theater.

I wouldn't walk into this film expecting a ground-breaking film that will change the genre forever, but it is does have some good pacing and the story moved along quite nicely. It is an enjoyable film that I recommend.

I'm surprised to see some low ratings for this movie because I found it to be really good. I didn't find a boring moment thru out the whole movie and the ending was so twisted... it just brought everything together. I wasn't sure of what the movie was about so I was definitely caught off guard with the whole plot. It sort of starts out like a love story, then next thing you know the guns come flying. Its different from any other movie I've seen with realistic outcomes and life situations. At times I wasn't sure if I was on the good guy's or bad guy's side because in a way, the main character deserved some of what he got. And I also understood why the bad guys chose their targets without remorse. If I wasn't given a background of the main character, I don't think i would've felt bad for him. Anyway, its a good movie and I'd definitely recommend checking it out.

Derailed is a tight, smart, and dangerous movie about risks. Based on the novel by the same name, it's hard to believe the book could be much better.

Jennifer Aniston gives a great performance, as does Clive Owen. The directing is spot on and the music is simple yet effective. One knock may be the film's cinematography; it looks like you've seen it or a movie like it before. Nothing special about the visual style.

Beware though, this movie is serious in all aspects. It can be violent, foul-mouthed,and at times really thrilling. Those are things thrillers usually aren't.

Luckily, Derailed never goes off the tracks and in the end makes it all the way to the credits. See it, rent it, or buy it. You'll believe that Hitchcock still lives.