On the Big Board |
| Position |
Staff |
In Brief |
| 117/166 |
David Mumpower |
Single most disappointing title of 2005. Had the potential to be another Frantic but wound up being predictable and bland. |
The aptly titled production based on the novel of the same name is a classic thriller in the vein of Harrison Ford's Frantic. The main character, Charles Schine (played by King Arthur himself, Clive Owen), is a successful businessman and upstanding family man. That is, he is all of that until one day his life is derailed.
Cursed by a frustrating home life with an off-putting wife and a diabetic daughter, he finds himself attempting to seduce a strangely alluring woman he meets on a train. When he finally manages to get her to a hotel room, his life is altered irrevocably. A stranger comes in, kicks his ass, and rapes his date. Even worse, the evil-doer proceeds to blackmail our hero. The businessman is left with two options. The first is to try to "eliminate" the bad guy while the other is to embezzle money from his place of employment.
Which will he choose? Will that save him from further trouble? Don't count on it. Derailed has massive buzz for its unusual story decisions and frequent surprising twists. It is poised to be one of the most exciting films on the release schedule. (David Mumpower/BOP)
