Charles Shine (Clive Owen) is a regular and somewhat happily married suburban man who takes a late train one day and meets Lucinda (Jennifer Aniston). Charles instantly is enamored by Lucinda’s sexuality, and they travel to a cruddy hotel in Chicago in order to take the relationship to the next level.
But a violent criminal quickly interrupts and blackmails the duo by threatening to tell their families if they do not pay him. From this point on, the plot is full of nonstop turns that exist only to make the plot appear clever.
The story is propelled both by money and the lack of money. The criminals desire Charles’s money because he is a successful advertising executive. In the meantime, Charles needs the money to pay for his daughter’s diabetes treatment. Charles’s daughter seems more like a cheap sympathy ploy without any purpose except to remind the audience that despite Charles’s actions, he is still the hero. Unlike most average individuals, Charles attempts to take matters into his own hands. In his effort to get the criminals off of his back he enlists the mailroom clerk, Winston (RZA), who has served time in prison and is therefore capable of handling any thugs. Following this, the plot has more twists and curves than a slinky.
You may wonder what Jennifer Aniston is doing in such a contrived, mediocre thriller. Aniston appears to be using the film only to demonstrate that she can act without being funny and will play any dramatic role to get out of typecasting. It is not her best performance.
The character that really drives the film is LaRoche, who is played by Vincent Cassel, the evil criminal who cannot decide if he is French or Spanish in the film but will stop at nothing to get Shine’s money. It is Laroche’s anger and determination that literally shove this film to the very end. Michael Hafstrom, like most young directors, appeared not to have a creative hand in “Derailed.” If anything, Hafstrom seems to have just asked that the film have a grainy look so it seems artsy.
The film asks the questions of why doesn’t insurance cover Type 1 diabetes? Why does the American system push black people into a life of crime, even if his or her uncle is a cop? Do American audiences just want films that appear intelligent but are easily understood from the start?
“Derailed” has a lot to teach audiences. First, if you are caught with your pants down by a criminal the next thing you should do is call the police before you end up committing ten more offenses.
Second, Jennifer Aniston can go an entire film without being funny, but who wants to see that? Third, screenwriters will use anything including a diabetic child to make audiences feel sad.
The film suggests that white men will usually succeed in the end, especially in America, but let us keep that one on the down low. All of the thrills are not worth the lessons above. “Derailed,” like many other so-so thrillers, will end up in the bargain bin at Wal-Mart. Even then, buying “Derailed” would be a waste. Purchase the old Andy Griffith episodes instead. They will at least make you laugh.
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