Derailed

December 7, 2005 - Clive Owen and Jennifer Aniston star in this 2005 suspense film. Melissa George (from Alias) co-stars.

Owen plays Charlie, a married advertising exec with a daughter who has Type I diabetes. George plays his wife.

The trouble starts when Charlie takes the train to work but doesn't have money for a ticket. A financial consultant named Lucinda (Aniston) pays for him. Charlie pays her back the next day, then calls her at work, takes her to lunch, and then out for drinks. Next thing you know, he's calling his wife to say he's working late. That done, Charlie and Lucinda cruise around in a taxi looking for a hotel.

They find a suitably seedy place and are just getting busy when a thug bursts into the room. He beats up Charlie, rapes Lucinda and takes all their money. No sooner does Charlie get home with a cover story about getting mugged, when his phone rings. It's the robber wanting $20,000. Charlie pays it, but the robber wants more - $100,000 - money that Charlie has saved for his daughter's medical treatment. He pays it, but won't rest until he gets it back.

Overall review: ** That's rounding up from one-and-a-half stars. This film is preposterous. Any man in Charlie's circumstances, who does what Charlie does, deserves what he gets. The film does have one truly surprising moment, but what's really surprising is that this film got made at all.