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| Director
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Mikael Håfström
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| Starring
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Clive Owen, Jennifer Aniston,
Vincent Cassel |
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| The plot of
Derailed |
Two suburban commuters, on the verge of having
an affair, find themselves blackmailed by a violent
criminal, who threatens both them and their families. |
Derailed
Movie Review
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Review by JUSTIN
CHANG:
Basically "Unfaithful""Unfaithful"
for men, "Derailed" is a nightmarish cautionary
tale about a husband who strays from the marriage bed
and ends up paying for it throughout the rest of the
movie. Predicated on the novel but unrewarding spectacle
of Clive OwenClive Owen getting smacked around for nearly
two hours, this murky psychological suspensersuspenser
manages the tricky feat of being as predictable as it
is finally preposterous. One can only hope it will be
mostly uphill from here, artistically and commercially,
for the fledgling Weinstein Co., whose first release
this is.Pic reps a fascinating intersection of cultures
both in front of and behind the camera: Directed by
Swedish helmer Mikael Hafstrom, here making his Hollywood
debut, the cast features two Euro thesps (Owen and Vincent
Cassel), two hip-hop artists (RZA and Xzibit) and one
all-American sweetheart (Jennifer AnistonJennifer Aniston).
Result is a perplexing stew that, in its insoluble blend
of tones, temperaments and hackneyed genre standards,
at times plays like a high-toned exploitation picture..more..
Review By Laura
Sinagra:
It's probably fitting
that the Weinstein brothers' first release after their
gory split with Disney deals with shattered marital
fidelity and the vengeance rained down upon the guilty
party. They must, however, be a little bummed that Derailed
isn't quite a consummate kiss-off. In the wake of A
History of Violence, which wickedly subverts the vigilante
genre, this "shield the family" thriller doesn't
add any nuance to the conversation. That said, as the
harried adman whose hormone-spurred bad judgment leads
down a nightmare rabbit hole, Clive Owen proves he can
just about save anything. His hangdog virility in Closer
provided the heft and hurt that made the otherwise mannered
roundelay seem credible. Here, he smolderingly complicates
the moldy Fatal Attraction morality tale we've seen
so many times before..More..
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