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DERAILED

What You Need To Know:

IN BRIEF:

DERAILED is a psychological thriller about two married people, Charles Schine and Lucinda Harris who meet on a train. An adulterous hotel tryst is thwarted by LaRoche, an evil Frenchman. LaRoche beats Charles, rapes Lucinda, and takes their money and identification. Soon, Charles and Lucinda are at the mercy of this criminal as he blackmails and threatens to expose them. Shamed by the rape and fearing her husband’s wrath, Lucinda convinces Charles to avoid the police. Instead, they must turn the tables on LaRoche and beat him at his own game if they ever want to return to their normal lives.

DERAILED, which is based on the best-selling novel by James Siegel, is billed as a sexy, psychological thriller, but it falls short of the mark. The script explores the baseness of humanity from the stereotypical villain with no moral compass all the way to the adulterous anti-hero with no moral compass. Add to that the movie's excessive violence, including a graphic rape scene, plus the abundant foul language and the general immorality of adultery and blackmail, and DERAILED journeys way off the track. The movie also has a strong humanist worldview with anti-Christian content.

Content:

(HH, AbAb, Cap, LLL, VVV, SSS, N, AA, DD, MMM) Strong humanist worldview with strong anti-biblical and anti-Christian elements such as a negative reference to Catholicism and the biblical doctrine of original sin being a major source of allegedly inordinate and allegedly unjust guilt, and very strong immorality throughout the movie, as well as light pro-capitalist content; 55 obscenities (including 39 "f" words) and three profanities; very strong violence includes a scene with man being beaten down and his nose broken with a gun and woman graphically raped at gunpoint, villain grabs protagonist’s genitalia, friend of protagonist shot in the head, graphic fight and shootout where men wrestle for a gun and four people are shot, and man stabbed with a makeshift knife while in prison; very strong sexual content mostly involving a graphic rape scene, and adultery is depicted until mugger violently interrupts the adulterous married couple and rapes the woman; naturalistic upper rear female nudity of woman in shower and adulterous woman in lingerie; alcohol use and drunkenness; several shots of smoking and one reference to drug use; very strong miscellaneous immorality throughout the film includes the entire plot revolving around adultery and blackmail and murder, woman admits to having an abortion, local police officer endorses prostitution, plus a very negative and depressing depiction of marriage.

More Detail:

DERAILED is a psychological thriller about two people, Charles Schine (Clive Owen) and Lucinda Harris (Jennifer Aniston), whose adulterous tryst is thwarted by the villainous LaRoche (Vincent Cassell).

A chance meeting on their morning commute leads Charles and Lucinda down a path that will change their lives forever. Flirting with danger, they meet for lunch. Lunch quickly turns into cocktails after work. Cocktails turn into a hotel room rendezvous. And the hotel rendezvous turns into disaster. A evil Frenchman named LaRoche breaks in on their would-be affair, beats down Charles, rapes Lucinda, takes Charles’ wallet, steals Lucinda’s purse, and disappears. Shamed by the rape and fearing her husband’s wrath, Lucinda convinces Charles not to go to the police. Soon, Charles and Lucinda both find themselves at the mercy of this criminal as he blackmails and threatens to expose them. They must turn the tables on LaRoche and beat him at his own game if they ever want to get back to their normal lives.

Based on the best-selling novel by James Siegel, the movie is billed as a sexy, psychological, spine-tingling thriller. Well, it’s not. The script explores the baseness of humanity from the stereotypical villain with no moral compass all the way to the adulterous anti-hero with no moral compass.

The actors do a fine job. Clive Owen is a strong screen presence and Jennifer Aniston is transitioning nicely from television to feature films. The director brings you into the world of the movie with consistent choices that are simple and never too gimmicky. The script foreshadows the plot twist nicely without ever giving too much away.

However, the abundance of immorality takes the audience on another ride of shock-value that is no longer shocking. A thriller should be thrilling, not off-putting. The situations become so extreme that, by the end of the film, most viewers probably will shake their heads in disgust and disbelief. It is difficult to empathize with characters and stories that are so ethically despicable and over the top. With excessive violence, 55 obscenities (39 of which are “f” words), a graphic rape scene, and an immoral, humanist worldview with a depressing view of marriage, DERAILED finds itself morally off the track.

Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.


Now more than ever we’re bombarded by darkness in media, movies, and TV. Movieguide® has fought back for almost 40 years, working within Hollywood to propel uplifting and positive content. We’re proud to say we’ve collaborated with some of the top industry players to influence and redeem entertainment for Jesus. Still, the most influential person in Hollywood is you. The viewer.

What you listen to, watch, and read has power. Movieguide® wants to give you the resources to empower the good and the beautiful. But we can’t do it alone. We need your support.

You can make a difference with as little as $7. It takes only a moment. If you can, consider supporting our ministry with a monthly gift. Thank you.

Movieguide® is a 501c3 and all donations are tax deductible.