Derailed - Attrazione letale

PRE Oscars REVIEW: I just saw a pre-screening of the film "Derailed" starring the great Clive Owen and Jennifer Aniston. What that means is that it wasn't a final version but very close to it. Well I must say I was eager to place Owen into contention for an Oscar nomination after last year popular "Closer." I'm sorry to say that he is out and it's due to the poor, predictable script.

The story was very underdeveloped and a bit unrealistic but the performances of Owen, Aniston, and Vincent Cassel kept the film moving. This movie was Unfaithful meets Matchstick Men meets Reindeer Games. I would recommend the film for a good popcorn flick but in terms of Oscar I would take it out of the game. Owen captures the nature of his character but flops in terms of staying in the location meaning his American accent. Although he is truly the hero of the story and you love the character. He got a couple of "claps" during the film. Aniston gives a very different performance than what we're used to but it works. She's very talented and I would love to see her nominated in the next coming years.

The standout of the cast is Vincent Cassel who's villainous, dark performance will go down in the books as one of the greatest villainous performances in the past years. He truly makes you hate him and you leave with a feeling in your stomach from him on screen. The worst part of the entire film was the terrible musical score which is very distracting and annoying but hopefully with better editing they'll get rid of it and hire someone new. So-so script and good performances make a pretty decent flick.

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.

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.

At first I thought wow, Clive Owen and Jennifer Aniston, 2 big names. Might be good. I was a bit disappointed. Aniston's character is very flat and one-dimensional in the movie - very forgettable. Clive's acting is convincing, but the plot sucks. The villain (Vincent Cassel) looked pathetic and hardly scary. Even though he commits lots of violent acts in the movie, he really doesn't inspire fear in me. He actually looked more convincing dressed up as an office colleague of Clive Owen's in one particular scene, than when he's dressed as a street thug. Perhaps its because he's a bit too skinny and his skin is too good, perhaps its because his facial features looking more like a 17th century European aristocrat than some Chicago street thug. I think he'd probably do better acting as a psycho-killer rather than a professional thug.

By the end of the movie, I was really unimpressed. Yes the plot didn't really turn out like anyone had suspected, but its more of a "oh right, so what?" feeling I had, rather than a "oh my god. I can't believe it" feeling. By then I was just waiting, sitting there, hoping that something good - something really good - better come along soon, because I've not even gotten excited yet. But it never happened - and I never got excited or scared once throughout the whole movie.

I really wouldn't pay to watch this at the cinema - it would be like when I watched SWAT at the movies a few years ago. It feels like my money would be better spent elsewhere. Probably okay to watch this at home if you didn't have to pay like full price to rent this - if this movie was in the bargain bins somewhere in the video store.