DERAILED - mikael håfström - 1.5 / 10

Derailed offers one bewildering movie-going experience. You don't cast Jennifer Aniston (who's just plain not going to be a movie star) in a role unless you want the audience to have sympathy for her, even if you are casting her against type. She's America's other sweetheart (after Julia Roberts of course). But in Derailed she plays a double-crossing, cheating wife who is only ever an impediment to our hero (Clive Owen's Charles Schine). But she sure does seem nice. And further, her interactions with Charles, although they're later revealed to be an act, are sweet and playful and the stuff of which movie romances are made. These encounters are in sharp contrast to the stilted, pained interactions between Charles and his wife. So the audience is put in the very strange position of rooting for the relationship between the philandering husband and his mistress to be the one that prevails.

But then there's the big reveal that exposes the mistress (Aniston) as a con woman. And now the audience is completely lost with no relationship to root for (Aniston's character dies early and uselessly). The wife and sick child of our hero are annoying and having him and them return to normalcy isn't nearly interesting enough. And so, we're put in the position of wishing that somehow Charles and Aniston's Lucinda could have made it work. That's a very strange position to be put in and it's more than a little bewildering.

Also bewildering is the film's portrayal of black people. There are three in the film. One is an ex-con mailroom employee. One is a gun for hire. And the third is a policeman. (And for added fun, two of the three are played by rappers) So the good guy (Charles) has his black guy who can die in a dramatic way. And the bad guy has his black guy who Charles can kill to prove he means business. And then there's the black detective who can figure it out in the end and, although he has the power to do something to stop it, merely add a wink-wink nod of approval to our vigilante hero. How this paternalistic portrayal of black people (and foreigners and women) didn't ring any bells somewhere along the line should be shocking and offensive. Instead it's met with a shrug. This is the way it is in mainstream Hollywood, I guess.