Thriller. Clive Owen, Jennifer Aniston, Vincent Cassel, Melissa George, Addison Timlin, RZA, Xzibit, Tom Conti, Giancarlo Esposito, David Morrissey.

DERAILED is a psychological thriller, adapted from James Siegel's instantly forgettable bestseller, which commits the cardinal sin: signposting the twists to the audience well before the big reveal.

For all its faults, Siegel's book sustains a modicum of suspense through its serpentine turns and surprises, and the descriptions of violence - especially towards women - are queasily unsettling.

Screenwriter Stuart Beattie, who penned the script for Collateral, retains the convoluted plotting but sanitises the nastier elements of the story, relying on our imagination to fill in the blanks.

Clive Owen and Jennifer Aniston are an attractive pairing but they fail to kindle any tangible sexual chemistry; nor do their performances carry enough emotional weight to draw us into their characters' hellish predicament.

Charles Schine (Owen) and Lucinda Harris (Aniston) are commuters who pass each other on the train each day.

Spark

By chance, they catch each other's eye and the spark of mutual attraction is obvious.

The corporate high-flyers - who are both married with children - go out for a drink, which eventually leads to an illicit liaison in a downtown Chicago hotel.

In the heat of their ardour, Charles and Lucinda are shocked when a gun-toting stranger, LaRoche (Cassel), bursts into their hotel room and threatens them at gunpoint, turning their worlds upside down.

Lucinda refuses to involve the police for fear of exposing her infidelity to her husband.

She begs Charles to remain silent too, for the sake of his wife Deanna (George) and 14-year-old diabetic daughter Amy (Timlin).

Suddenly, the adulterers face a nightmarish reality in which they are pawns in a deadly game of violence and betrayal.

Church

Then a wily police officer, Detective Church (Esposito), arrives at Charles's office, asking difficult questions.

Swedish director Mikael Hafstrom makes his English language feature film debut with Derailed.

It's a poor choice for such a talented filmmaker, who shows little of the same flair and confidence evident in his Oscar nominated previous picture, Evil, a deeply affecting portrait of institutional bullying and violence in a boy's boarding school.

Owen is too cool and collected - you really wouldn't believe that Charles' life was crashing down around him - while Aniston's casting against type falls flat.

Cassel is an odd though suitably menacing addition to the mix; supporting players, including George and Timlin, barely get a look in.

Released: February 3 (UK & Ireland)