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DERAILED (2005) (**)

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This modern film noir plays well for its first two acts, but jumps the tracks in the end. It wants to be a film noir, but it wants a happy ending, which is actually vicious when one thinks about it. Moreover, the criminals are so stupid in the end that one cannot believe they would be smart enough to pull off their original crimes in the first place.

Charles Schine (Clive Owen, CLOSER) is an advertising exec, whose daughter, Amy (Addison Timlin, film debut), is suffering from Type 1 diabetes. His wife, Deanna (Melissa George, 2005’s THE AMITYVILLE HORROR), and him worry constantly about their child’s health and the financial strain that it puts on their family. One morning, Charles rides to work on the train and realizes he has no money to pay for his ticket. Sexy stranger Lucinda Harris (Jennifer Aniston, TV’s FRIENDS) offers to pay for him, which Charles feels obligated to pay back.

Lucinda has a playful sexuality about her that tempts Charles, who falls less for her charms and more for their shared misery. She is in a bad marriage and he just needs someone outside of his life to confide in. They end up in a seedy hotel. There, violent thief LaRoche (Vincent Cassel, OCEAN’S TWELVE) robs them and rapes Lucinda. Believing they will not go to the cops because they were caught in affairs, LaRoche begins to blackmail them, threatening to expose their affair and bring harm to their loved ones. Desperate, Charles confides in the mail clerk at work named Winston (RZA, GHOST DOG), who previously served some prison time. Winston devises a plan to scare LaRoche, but as these things go the plot only gets more desperate as Charles’ control of the situation gets more and more out of his hands.

Director Mikael Håfström (2003’s EVIL) crafts a nice noir feel to the first two acts. The mounting problems that Charles has to face add nicely to the dread. However, things become too neat and coincidence takes over too much for the conclusion to work. The film loses its way by trying to play its genre for a twist. The end feels too standard, losing all the tension that has been built. Charles cast as an avenging hero just doesn’t work.

It’s a shame considering Owen, Aniston, Cassel and RZA all provide solid performances. Owen shows he has great range. Aniston at first seems miscast as the sexpot, but she actually is perfect for this sexpot, because it’s less about straight sex appeal and more about the tone and vulnerability of the character. The film made me remember how great the ending to BODY HEAT is. That film understood the genre and carried its bittersweet tone to the very end. DERAILED plays like it wants to be a film noir, but ends up wallowing in revenge thriller land.

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Rick DeMott
Animation World Network
Creator of Rick's Flicks Picks