Ember's analysis
- Pacing
- Brisk
- Intensity
- Strong
- Complexity
- Easy to follow
- Violence
- Brutal
- brooding
- paranoid
- tense
- late night thriller viewing
- crime movie marathon
What critics said
Critics found the performances intriguing and the premise intermittently effective, but judged the thriller uneven and insufficiently compelling overall.
What sets it apart
May contain story progression spoilers
Charles begins as a married advertising executive and becomes trapped by blackmail, debt, police scrutiny, and coerced violence.
Lucinda's affair with Charles is the gateway into the hotel-room assault, blackmail operation, and stolen-identity scheme.
After legal channels offer no workable remedy, Charles pursues an improvised vengeance that produces further bloodshed.
Chicago commuter travel, advertising offices, tacky hotels, and anonymous communications frame Charles's movement through an increasingly threatening city.
Films like Derailed, and why
The Game
shared neo noir crime thriller structure, marital betrayal, blackmail, and escalating danger
Unfaithful
shared adult thriller tone, sexual deception, social paranoia, and corrosive relationship conflict
A Perfect Murder
shared urban crime thriller atmosphere, wronged protagonist, and revenge-driven escalation
Body Heat
shared neo noir themes of entrapment, manipulation, and compromised ordinary people
Movie Details
- Director
- Mikael Håfström
- Release Date
- 2005-11-11
- Runtime
- 108 min
- Rating
- 6.4 / 10 (1180)
Cast
- Clive Owen
- Jennifer Aniston
- Vincent Cassel
- Melissa George
- Giancarlo Esposito
- David Morrissey
- Georgina Chapman
- Denis O'Hare
- Tom Conti
- Addison Timlin
Where to watch in United States
- Streaming
- Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, Philo, Lionsgate+ Amazon Channel, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Howdy Amazon Channel
- Rent
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
- Buy
- Amazon Video, Apple TV Store, Google Play Movies, YouTube, Fandango At Home
Streaming options come from TMDB and change over time.
Common questions
- What is Derailed about?
- A financially desperate Chicago executive is pulled from an adulterous affair into a blackmail conspiracy that turns his ordinary life into a violent revenge trap.
- What is Derailed like to watch?
- Ember's analysis rates the pacing of Derailed as brisk, its intensity as strong and its storytelling as easy to follow.
- Is Derailed violent?
- Yes. Ember rates the violence in Derailed as brutal.
- What did critics think of Derailed?
- Critics found the performances intriguing and the premise intermittently effective, but judged the thriller uneven and insufficiently compelling overall.
- Which films are like Derailed?
- Films with a similar feel include The Game, Unfaithful, A Perfect Murder, and Body Heat.
- How long is Derailed?
- Derailed runs 108 minutes.
- Where can I watch Derailed?
- In United States, Derailed streams on Amazon Prime Video, fuboTV, Philo, Lionsgate+ Amazon Channel, Amazon Prime Video with Ads, Howdy Amazon Channel.
