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DERAILED |
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By : Suzanne Philips |
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| Based on the novel by
James Siegel, DERAILED is
the story of two strangers, Charlie (Clive
Owen) and Lucinda (Jennifer
Aniston) who meet on a commuter train and find that they have a great
deal in common. Both are married with difficult home situations and problems
at work. Drawn to each other, they decide to sleep together and get a hotel
room in a somewhat seedy area of town. Before the deed can actually be done,
a violent crime occurs which sets off a chain of events that spirals out of
control. The film is directed by Swedish director Mikael Håfström and adapted for the screen by Stuart Beattie (Pirates of the Caribbean). I thought this film really started off well. The director did a nice job setting up the back story on Charlie's (Clive Owen) character. Career going downhill, marriage in a rut, daughter with a serious illness.....making for a pretty horrible life for Charlie. Both Owen and Aniston were very engaging and their scenes together showed a great deal of chemistry and connection. The first half of the film progressed at a very nice pace and I felt the plot unfolded in a very interesting fashion. The second half of the film was a bit convoluted and very slow pace-wise. Too much time spent on the scenery and exploration of somewhat non-important plot points made the film feel longer than it's running time of an hour and forty seven minutes. Clive Owen, whom I always enjoy, is really great and does carry the film as we see it from his point of view. He is so good at controlling the anger of the scene but showing it to you in subtle little ways - a twitch of the hand or a movement in his jaw. Aniston was also quite good, although I think the hype of "Seeing Jennifer Aniston in a whole new light" was a bit over the top. She was good but I didn't feel it was a big stretch for her. Sure it wasn't anything like her FRIENDS character but I didn't see all the hype. Really nice supporting performances from Vincent Cassel (Oceans 12), Giancarlo Esposito (Usual Suspects), and Rapper Xzibit. Also the RZA (Wu-Tang Clan) gives an amazing performance as Winston, a former drug dealer who is a friend of Charlie's. While I found the plot to be terribly predictable, it was worth a look just to see the good performances in this piece. 2 1/2 out of 5 |