Derailed (2005)

REVIEW
Mikael Hafstrom’s Derailed stars Vincent Cassel, Clive Owen and Jennifer Aniston in what is billed as a psychological thriller but what might be more aptly seen as a pure action thriller. Indeed, head games do abound but the narrative moves so quickly, there’s really never a lull in the flow. Charles (Owen) and Lucinda (Aniston) are both married to other people but are immediately attracted to each other on a Chicago commuter train one morning. Thus begins what seems to be a simple act of adultery. Much more cannot be revealed for this narrative is not only full of twists, it is structurally twisted so the viewer literally cannot figure what is coming next. Whatever happened to the days of movies with one plot twist near the end? Derailed has, count them, one major and six minor twists with at least three implausible narrative devices that leave gaps where the story should be! It’s all entertaining in an over-the-top/suspension of disbelief sort of way. Everyone performs their parts effectively, especially Cassel and Owens (who has always been above average). This is atypical formula due to the quantity and extremist quality of the twists — we aren’t asked to care about the characters, only to follow them through the maze of cleverly constructed curves and alleys. An airy but ultimately hollow confection, the title refers to the viewer’s experience.