MovieChat Forums > Derailed (2005) Discussion > Plot holes (spoilers) the size of...Mont...

Plot holes (spoilers) the size of...Montana? Alaska???


1. Why was Clive not surprised that Jennifer didn't look very beat up when the multiple rapes were over?
2. Are we to believe that Jennifer trolls the commuter trains looking for frustrated, horny married men with $100K that they can spare? And just because she's beautiful, we're also supposed to believe that she can she find them every month or two!?!
3. How did Clive get into the prison with a weapon...presumably on multiple days?
4. Why is the blackmail money being kept in the sleazy hotel safe? Wouldn't they have stashed it in some offshore bank account...or at the least, a safety deposit box?
5. What downtown hotel Chicago hotel -- not blatantly overrun with rats, pimps and crackheads -- only charges $46 a night? (The worst thing about this hotel room appeared to be the tacky lamps and bedspread.)
6. And why are audiences always expected to believe that an otherwise intelligent man would pay blackmail in the vain hope that THIS payment will be the LAST?

The plot twist(s), however twisty, didn't work for me because of all of these factors (and more).

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1. LaRoche never hit her. The idea that rapes require physical injuries is ludicrous. Most rapes involve no injuries or at most maybe some slight bruising

2. Yes that's exactly what she does. At some point they obviously make some kind of assessment of how much money the marks have.

3. Carved out of non metallic material and hidden somewhere on his person. As a teacher and a white collar criminal they didn't have reason to suspect him and since this wasn't his first time they were probably giving him pro-forma searches.

4. Yeah this made no sense. The only reason to have it there is for Clive to be able to get it back in the end.

5. The hotel seemed very odd to me. They seemed to not be able to decide if it's some sleazy dive or a fairly nice hotel. The lobby looked pretty good. Clean, nice marble columns, nice woodwork liveried doorman. Yet the guy working the front desk looks like he just stepped off a fishing trawler and the hallway upstairs has cracked walls.

6. I found this completely believable. Clive is completely out of his depth here. He just wants to make the problem go away and naively thinks that he can do so by giving the guy some money. As others have noted elsewhere a bigger issue is what exactly LaRoche is able to blackmail him with. He's got no evidence that Owen was cheating. All he has is Owen's wallet which he already told his wife was stolen. So the smartest thing to do would be to call LaRocke's bluff. Especially when he demands 100 grand taken from the sick daughter's survival fund.

There is an issue of why go through with the complicated scam. They have Aniston seduce a guy. Then they break into the hotel room and bang him up a bit and pretend to rape Aniston. This carries a lot of risk. What if the guy manages to overpower LaRoche? What if what happens in the end scene happens and it turns into a wider firefight? What if someone else in the hotel hears the commotion? And afterwards what if the mark goes to the cops despite Aniston's protests? And what if the guy decides that since they've got no evidence of his infidelity he'll simply not pay? A scam with much less liability would be one where they simply tape Aniston banging the mark and then blackmail him into giving them money. They'd have actual evidence of the affair then and wouldn't expose themselves to assault, in addition to extortion, charges. Not to mention all that can go wrong with the mugging scenario


"If you're looking for a better steak in an arcade setting you're sh!t out of luck!

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[deleted]

good thought on a better scam...
you have a darker side..
I hope you do not have a girlfriend that looks like Jennifer Anniston.

it was an ok movie though...
typical good guy triumphs over bad guys..

I like Clive Owen...his soft soothing voice...

and Vincent Cassel was great...as he is in every movie.

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6. And why are audiences always expected to believe that an otherwise intelligent man would pay blackmail in the vain hope that THIS payment will be the LAST?

this is the only one that is difficult to refuse. The other ones are easy to put down.

I am to lazy to write, but let me refuse point number four: if you show up in a Bank with $100 K in cash to make a deposit it´s 100% sure you will have to give explanations to the bank and/or IRS. That means you could get tracked. Same goes for a safe deposit box, unless it is some underground place.

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and why wouldnt she atleast go get the morning after pill?????

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and why wouldnt she atleast go get the morning after pill?????


at a time like that she would not be thinking straight,she'd be way too traumatised and upset to consider the pill

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Why would Charles Schine go back to the same bar he was in with Winston the night Winston was killed?

Why did the clerk at the hotel not recognize Charles and warn Dexter, when Charles went back to the hotel alone?





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Why did the clerk at the hotel not recognize Charles and warn Dexter, when Charles went back to the hotel alone?

We saw him run past the hotel clerk when his back was turned.





Ashmi any question

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There was no pregnancy and no abortion; it was part of the scam.

http://AManAndAMouse.blogspot.com/

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The major plot hole was that you already have a woman like Melissa George as a wife and somehow you look twice at a woman such as Jennifer Aniston.

English is not my native language.
Want to know who did 911? visit http://www.911missinglinks.com/

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1. ''Why was Clive not surprised that Jennifer didn't look very beat up when the multiple rapes were over? ''

That doesn't always happen.


2.''Are we to believe that Jennifer trolls the commuter trains looking for frustrated, horny married men with $100K that they can spare? And just because she's beautiful, we're also supposed to believe that she can she find them every month or two!?!''

i get the feeling the scam was a much wider circle than jennifer aniston,the french dude and the motel people,they obviously were getting inside info from banks on people's bank accounts and threw aniston as bate to the men. It was not a chance meeting,it was all pre-mediated and well planned well before hand.


4. Why is the blackmail money being kept in the sleazy hotel safe? Wouldn't they have stashed it in some offshore bank account...or at the least, a safety deposit box?

The motel staff were in on it remember so thats were they kept the money.

5. What downtown hotel Chicago hotel -- not blatantly overrun with rats, pimps and crackheads -- only charges $46 a night? (The worst thing about this hotel room appeared to be the tacky lamps and bedspread.)

Again same answer to four,the motel staff were in on it,they likely charged that price to their victims.

6. And why are audiences always expected to believe that an otherwise intelligent man would pay blackmail in the vain hope that THIS payment will be the LAST?


You'd be suprised at the lengths some people go to hide the truth.

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1. Why was Clive not surprised that Jennifer didn't look very beat up when the multiple rapes were over?

As others have stated, Jennifer wouldn't have to be beaten to be raped. The emotional toll of the event would not make Charles question that.

2. Are we to believe that Jennifer trolls the commuter trains looking for frustrated, horny married men with $100K that they can spare?

Yes, we are. She's looking for marks no matter where she is. She's working as a temp/assistant to Lucinda Harris, so, she's headed to her temp job when she sees an opportunity to make a connection with a man who may/may not be wealthy. But, her primary job is to find marks. If it's on the way to work on the train...great! Lunch hour...great! Commute home...great! I'm guessing when she's on lunch hour from her temp job she's sitting in the bars near the financial center...looking for marks.

3. How did Clive get into the prison with a weapon...presumably on multiple days?

As stated by others...clearly a non-metallic weapon, familiarity with the guards after teaching the course for several days.

4. Why is the blackmail money being kept in the sleazy hotel safe?

The hotel is a huge part of the scam. The clerk is in on it, the security guard is in on it. They can control who is in what rooms on what floors when they're getting close to day of the rape. They can stage the hotel whenever & however they want. The fact that it's sleazy makes it even more believable. Anniston just has to make sure they are driving near the hotel, say "I can't do this", tell the cabbie to stop (so it totally looks random), and then say "ok, let's do it...hey look...a hotel!"

So they kept all the money there as it's an integral part of the scam. This is certainly not out of the realm of possibility.

5. What downtown hotel Chicago hotel -- not blatantly overrun with rats, pimps and crackheads -- only charges $46 a night?

Again, the hotel is a huge part of the scam. So what that it's $46 dollars.

6. And why are audiences always expected to believe that an otherwise intelligent man would pay blackmail in the vain hope that THIS payment will be the LAST?

To me, it's not a stretch that Charles will do almost anything to keep this away from the wife. They've got enough problems in the marriage and with the daughter's health that he would not want this to be known. I also think he's very naive that paying the blackmail will work.

Others have stated:

There is an issue of why go through with the complicated scam.

A scam with much less liability would be one where they simply tape Aniston banging the mark and then blackmail him into giving them money.

I believe LaRoche likes to beat people and he & Anniston get off on having sex in front of other people. They do it for the money and the excitement.

What if someone else in the hotel hears the commotion?

The sleazy hotel likely is not full all the time. The hotel clerk has a lot of control as to when the perfect time to stage the rape will occur.

Why did the clerk at the hotel not recognize Charles and warn Dexter, when Charles went back to the hotel alone?

If I recall correctly, he's able to get in the lobby and get to the stairs without getting too close to the front desk. On this point, it's more likely that he would run into Dexter.

And why didn't the cops that night place Charles in the area of the scene where Winstons body was found?

I'll concede one point on Winston's death. Blood clearly leaked from the car where Charles was interacting with the prostitute and the two cops. This would connect the car in the river and this incident. While this would give them a description of a "person of interest" in the case it wouldn't lead them to Charles.

On a side note, I put Vincent Cassels performance up there with Alan Rickman as Hans Gruber. I fully bought into the sadistic, yet charming Cassel being able to overpower and intimidate the timid executive who "cons housewives".

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