The ads for "Derailed", starring Clive Owen and Jennifer Aniston as a pair of doomed, illicit lovers, are accompanied by the tagline, "They Never Saw It Coming".
That would have to make them about the only ones.
Aiming for "Strangers on a Train" or "The Postman Always Rings Twice" but ending up looking a lot more like the lesser elements of "Unfaithful", this flaccid psychological thriller keeps spoiling its own surprise by constantly signaling the big plot twist.
And because that means they won't have to keep on guessing, audiences will have a lot of time on their hands noticing how Swedish director Mikael Hafstrom's first English-language feature never really ratchets up the suspense or how the casting of Aniston and Owen fails to generate those crucial sparks.
As a result, this debut release under the Weinstein Co. banner likely won't make the kind of splash it's looking for, though it could still conduct some moderate business with female-skewing thrill-seekers.
Adapted by Stuart Beattie ("Collateral") from a novel by James Siegel, the story centers on Charles Schine (Owen), a Chicago advertising man who finds himself on the commuter train to work one day without cash to pay for his ticket.
Springing for the nine bucks is alluring fellow passenger Lucinda Harris (Aniston), who, it turns out, works in the financial industry and, like Schine, is married with a child.
But that doesn't prevent them from taking more than a shine to each other, meeting for lunches and early evening cocktails, leading to a would-be tryst in a seedy hotel room that is rudely and fatefully interrupted by the intrusion of a brutal trespasser (Vincent Cassel) who holds them up at gunpoint, beats up Schine and sexually assaults Aniston.
A nasty game of blackmail escalates, leading to the intended big reveal, but truth be told, the plot jumped the tracks long before the train pulled into the station.
In the hands of director Hafstrom, whose previous film, "Evil" was a foreign-language Oscar nominee, "Derailed" telegraphs its every turn while never making a credible case for the characters' unfaithful behavior.
Part of the problem is in the casting of its two dependable leads who both bring very specific qualities to the table -- a fundamental decency with Aniston and a soulful melancholy with Owen -- and those attributes simply don't serve this type of story effectively. Their relationship never achieves that pulpy, darkly driven passionate intensity required to command an equally pounding punishment.
Also lacking is a distinct visual style, an attribute that the otherwise soapy "Unfaithful" had in spades (not to mention that terrific Diane Lane performance), leaving "Derailed", which happens to have been shot by "Unfaithful" cinematographer Peter Biziou, to chug along drearily to a long-awaited destination.
Derailed
The Weinstein Co.
The Weinstein Co. and Miramax Films present a di Bonaventura Pictures production in association with Patalex V Prods.
A film by Mikael Hafstrom
Credits:
Director: Mikael Hafstrom
Screenwriter: Stuart Beattie
Based on the novel by: James Siegel
Producer: Lorenzo di Bonaventura
Executive producers: Harvey Weinstein, Bob Weinstein, Jonathan Gordon
Director of photography: Peter Biziou
Production designer: Andrew Laws
Editor: Peter Boyle
Costume designer: Natalie Ward
Music: Edward Shearmur
Cast:
Charles Schine: Clive Owen
Lucinda Harris: Jennifer Aniston
Deanna Schine: Melissa George
La Roche: Vincent Cassel
Winston Boyko: RZA
Dexter: Xzibit
Amy Schine: Addison Timlin
Detective Church: Giancarlo Esposito
MPAA rating R
Running time -- 110 minutes...
That would have to make them about the only ones.
Aiming for "Strangers on a Train" or "The Postman Always Rings Twice" but ending up looking a lot more like the lesser elements of "Unfaithful", this flaccid psychological thriller keeps spoiling its own surprise by constantly signaling the big plot twist.
And because that means they won't have to keep on guessing, audiences will have a lot of time on their hands noticing how Swedish director Mikael Hafstrom's first English-language feature never really ratchets up the suspense or how the casting of Aniston and Owen fails to generate those crucial sparks.
As a result, this debut release under the Weinstein Co. banner likely won't make the kind of splash it's looking for, though it could still conduct some moderate business with female-skewing thrill-seekers.
Adapted by Stuart Beattie ("Collateral") from a novel by James Siegel, the story centers on Charles Schine (Owen), a Chicago advertising man who finds himself on the commuter train to work one day without cash to pay for his ticket.
Springing for the nine bucks is alluring fellow passenger Lucinda Harris (Aniston), who, it turns out, works in the financial industry and, like Schine, is married with a child.
But that doesn't prevent them from taking more than a shine to each other, meeting for lunches and early evening cocktails, leading to a would-be tryst in a seedy hotel room that is rudely and fatefully interrupted by the intrusion of a brutal trespasser (Vincent Cassel) who holds them up at gunpoint, beats up Schine and sexually assaults Aniston.
A nasty game of blackmail escalates, leading to the intended big reveal, but truth be told, the plot jumped the tracks long before the train pulled into the station.
In the hands of director Hafstrom, whose previous film, "Evil" was a foreign-language Oscar nominee, "Derailed" telegraphs its every turn while never making a credible case for the characters' unfaithful behavior.
Part of the problem is in the casting of its two dependable leads who both bring very specific qualities to the table -- a fundamental decency with Aniston and a soulful melancholy with Owen -- and those attributes simply don't serve this type of story effectively. Their relationship never achieves that pulpy, darkly driven passionate intensity required to command an equally pounding punishment.
Also lacking is a distinct visual style, an attribute that the otherwise soapy "Unfaithful" had in spades (not to mention that terrific Diane Lane performance), leaving "Derailed", which happens to have been shot by "Unfaithful" cinematographer Peter Biziou, to chug along drearily to a long-awaited destination.
Derailed
The Weinstein Co.
The Weinstein Co. and Miramax Films present a di Bonaventura Pictures production in association with Patalex V Prods.
A film by Mikael Hafstrom
Credits:
Director: Mikael Hafstrom
Screenwriter: Stuart Beattie
Based on the novel by: James Siegel
Producer: Lorenzo di Bonaventura
Executive producers: Harvey Weinstein, Bob Weinstein, Jonathan Gordon
Director of photography: Peter Biziou
Production designer: Andrew Laws
Editor: Peter Boyle
Costume designer: Natalie Ward
Music: Edward Shearmur
Cast:
Charles Schine: Clive Owen
Lucinda Harris: Jennifer Aniston
Deanna Schine: Melissa George
La Roche: Vincent Cassel
Winston Boyko: RZA
Dexter: Xzibit
Amy Schine: Addison Timlin
Detective Church: Giancarlo Esposito
MPAA rating R
Running time -- 110 minutes...
- 11/18/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Joel Fields is taking a Detour. The writer has been hired by Paramount Pictures to turn the James Siegel novel of the same name into a feature, which will be produced by Lorenzo di Bonaventura. Detour, which hit shelves in March, follows an American couple that travels to Colombia to adopt an infant. There, they and their baby are kidnapped by guerrillas, and the husband, pressed into duty as a drug mule, has to swallow 36 condoms filled with cocaine and deliver the contraband to New Jersey.
- 6/14/2005
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Jennifer Aniston is about to get Derailed. The actress will star opposite Clive Owen in the Miramax Films feature based on James Siegel's best-selling novel. Lorenzo di Bonaventura produces. The film will mark Academy Award winning director Mikael Hafstrom's English-language directorial debut. Based on a script by Collateral scribe Stuart Beattie, Derailed revolves around a married advertising executive whose life takes an unpredictable turn when he misses his train to work. Production is scheduled to begin in the fall in London and Chicago. Executive vp production Jon Gordon and senior vp creative affairs Jennifer Wachtell will oversee the production on behalf of Miramax. The deal was negotiated for Miramax by executive vp business affairs Steve Hutensky and senior vp business and legal affairs Barry Littman. CAA negotiated on behalf of Aniston.
- 7/23/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Jennifer Aniston is about to get "Derailed". The actress will star opposite Clive Owen in the Miramax Films feature based on James Siegel's best-selling novel. Lorenzo di Bonaventura produces. The film will mark Academy Award winner Mikael Hafstrom's English-language directorial debut. Based on a script by "Collateral" scribe Stuart Beattie, "Derailed" revolves around a married advertising executive whose life takes an unpredictable turn when he misses his train to work. Production is scheduled to begin in the fall in London and Chicago. Executive vp production Jon Gordon and senior vp creative affairs Jennifer Wachtell will oversee the production on behalf of Miramax. The deal was negotiated for Miramax by executive vp business affairs Steve Hutensky and senior vp business and legal affairs Barry Littman. CAA negotiated on behalf of Aniston.
- 7/23/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Lorenzo Di Bonaventura is in negotiations to acquire the film rights to Rick James' autobiography, Memoirs of a Super Freak, with David Chappelle in early talks to topline the feature film adaptation of the funk rocker's memoirs for Paramount Pictures. James, best known for his hit "Super Freak," has been working on a book for some time. In addition to his own pop and R&B hits, James wrote and produced many songs for artists such as the Temptations, Teena Marie and Eddie Murphy. Chappelle, who is repped by UTA, has appeared in numerous feature films, including The Nutty Professor and Con Air. He also has impersonated James on his Comedy Central series, Chappelle's Show. Other Di Bonaventura projects in the works include Derailed, starring ,H>Clive Owen; Detour, based on the book by James Siegel, and Doom, which he is producing with John Wells for Universal.
- 6/10/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
Lorenzo Di Bonaventura is in negotiations to acquire the film rights to Rick James' autobiography, Memoirs of a Super Freak, with David Chappelle in early talks to topline the feature film adaptation of the funk rocker's memoirs for Paramount Pictures. James, best known for his hit "Super Freak," has been working on a book for some time. In addition to his own pop and R&B hits, James wrote and produced many songs for artists such as the Temptations, Teena Marie and Eddie Murphy. Chappelle, who is repped by UTA, has appeared in numerous feature films, including The Nutty Professor and Con Air. He also has impersonated James on his Comedy Central series, Chappelle's Show. Other Di Bonaventura projects in the works include Derailed, starring ,H>Clive Owen; Detour, based on the book by James Siegel, and Doom, which he is producing with John Wells for Universal.
- 6/10/2004
- The Hollywood Reporter - Movie News
IMDb.com, Inc. takes no responsibility for the content or accuracy of the above news articles, Tweets, or blog posts. This content is published for the entertainment of our users only. The news articles, Tweets, and blog posts do not represent IMDb's opinions nor can we guarantee that the reporting therein is completely factual. Please visit the source responsible for the item in question to report any concerns you may have regarding content or accuracy.