Genre: Thriller, Drama
Tagline: Some lines should never be crossed.
Plot: Coming off the series finale of FRIENDS, Jennifer Aniston sets out to prove herself a serious actress with DERAILED, a tense thriller that is anything but funny. While the film gives most of its screen time to Clive Owen, Aniston proves, as in THE GOOD GIRL, that she is capable of pulling off a dramatic role. Meeting on a commuter train one morning in Chicago, ad executive Charles (Owen) and financial analyst Lucinda (Aniston) have an immediate connection. Worn down by his job, strained marriage, and a sick child, Charles finds himself drawn to the escape Lucinda can offer. A lunch meeting, followed by dinner and drinks, leads the way to a rendezvous in a sleazy motel, where no sooner have the adulterous lovebirds ripped each other's clothes off than a sadistic thief (Vincent Cassel) breaks into the room and puts them through hours of nightmarish horror. Because of their relationship's illicit nature, the two are unable to go to the cops, and are thus virtually powerless to their attacker's every whim, leaving themselves open to blackmail as he threatens their families and lives. Choosing momentary gratification and the excitement of the unknown over the values he generally holds dear, Charles more than pays the price for his indiscretion.Playing off his audience's greatest
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 Discussion forum for this movie
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 Some of the lines in Derailed are cheesy enough that they may threaten to bring on a bout of giggles. Plus, just to make sure the film doesn't clock in with too short a running length, we get the obligatory "fake ending." Of course, it will be obvious toanyone that another "shock" is on the way when everything has apparently been wrapped up and the movie is still chugging along...  --James Berardinelli (ReelViews)
Derailed doesn't hold up. At the end, we want more, or less, or different.  --Roger Ebert (Chicago Sun-Times)
Derailed is further marred by serious plausibility issues, particularly in the last act, when the supposed "big twist" is revealed. Within the pulpy context of the narrative, the twist itself is not completely far-fetched.  --TIM KNIGHT (Reel.com)
The lesson learned? If you’re going to cheat, spring for a quality hotel, for there’s a better chance the front desk clerk can’t be bought.  --Sean O'Connell (FilmCritic.com)
Film looks great; dark and sharp. But not good enough to shell out $10 and two hours.  --Jeanne Aufmuth
Although “Derailed has a great cast and has a few somewhat surprising moments and twists, this psychological thriller consistently stays off track.  --Heather Newgen (MovieWeb)
DERAILED thinks its clever, and that’s only slightly more annoying than the overweening score that tries very hard to make a point about the action on screen, but fails.  --Andrea Chase (Killer Movie Reviews)
Overall, “Derailed’s” a decent enough thriller with a couple of really good performances from actors in supporting roles. B---Rebecca Murray (About.com)
...”Derailed” is a decent genre effort, if no more than that. It has all the noir elements in place, especially the not-so-innocent man whose suffering increases with every passing minute. --James Verniere (BostonHerald.com)
The story's central problem is admirably devious, but the characters' solution to it is pedestrian, exactly the sort of plan that movie characters always come up with when faced with fiendish schemes -- i.e., they do something just as fiendish. Yawn. Howabout a thriller where the good guys win by doing something nice? B---Eric D. Snider (EricDSnider.com)
As a thriller, "Derailed'' proceeds with the same unearned swagger as a bad magic act, revealing its astonishments to the evident surprise of the filmmakers alone. Its only real trick is to saw a woman in half, a thing the movie accomplishes less metaphorically than you might wish... --Bruce Newman
This silly, sleazy stiff is a train-wreck of a movie. D---Frank Swietek
If you can get through the awkward moments of Derailed, you will probably find this movie to be a passable thriller that will keep you interested for almost the entire two hour running time. 7/10--Brendan Cullin (EmpireMovies.com)
This is a well-acted, well-directed, well-written thriller that kept me interested throughout. 8/10--Tony Medley (TonyMedley.com)
As is, Derailed is worth a rental or tickets to the cheap theater; otherwise, it isn't as satisfying as it could've been with the two leads.  --Brian Oliver (MovieMansGuide.com)
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| Cast |
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 | Clive Owen
Inside Man, The Bourne Identity, Children of Men |
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 | RZA
Be Cool, The Making of 'Kill Bill', Making 'Scary Movie 3' |
 | Xzibit
xXx: State of the Union, Gridiron Gang, Hoodwinked |
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[more] |
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| Music By |
Ed Shearmur
Charlie's Angels, Cruel Intentions, Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow |
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| Frankly, the story ought to be ashamed of using Francophobia to manipulate American audiences; it's just too easy isn't it? Yeah, Derailed might get you to root for the protagonist, but you're going to feel like you were suckered into it afterwards 5/10 --Jeffrey Chen (WindowToMovies.com)
Don’t let Derailed deter you from hitting on that person at the end of the bar, the hottie on the train or the new handsome devil you meet at work. As someone says, life is worth the risk. C+--Alexis Tuminello (TheCinemaSource)
Shortly after the ‘Audience? What audience?’ discussion, we made our way through the theatre lobby, only to pass by a poster for the film, with the tagline, “They Never Saw It Coming.” If only we hadn’t.  --William Goss (eFilmCritic.com)
...Whatever their reasoning, the end result is a film that is like the cinematic equivalent of a grim one-night-stand; it leaves you feeling depressed, vaguely nauseous and promising yourself that you will never get suckered into something like it again. --Peter Sobczynski (eFilmCritic.com)
Some movie lovers will enjoy the film’s sudden shifts in direction. These would be fun if they were happening within a more appealing film, but here they are simply brief moments of life in an otherwise moribund film noir retread. Sure, the filmmakers were trying to have some fun with noir, but you’ve got to offer more than over-written dialogue and the same-old-same-old for viewers to have equal fun. 66/100--Brian Webster (Apollo Guide)
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