'Derailed' has a twist that doesn't

The behavior of the characters doesn't make sense.
By CHRIS HEWITT
KNIGHT RIDDER NEWSPAPERS
The twist in "Derailed" is so obvious it's not even a twist. More like a tw.
Here's the setup: Family man (Clive Owen) meets mystery woman (Jennifer Aniston) about whose life we are shown nothing on a train. They check into a hotel and almost get their clothes off before a thug busts in, breaks their faces and demands hush money. You do not have to have seen many movies to read between those lines.
And it isn't just the thin premise that derails "Derailed." The behavior of the characters makes no sense, beginning with the idea that Owen would use money earmarked for his daughter's life-saving operation to pay the blackmailer instead of going to the police. You do not have to have seen many movies to know that blackmailers generally like to be paid several times.
So "Derailed" is preposterous, but I like what director Mykael Hafstrom does with the preposterousness, re-creating the feeling you get when you've done something wrong and you're waiting to be found out. That's a tricky mood to sustain for two hours, but Hafstrom pulls it off. You do not have to have seen many movies to realize Hafstrom probably has better work -- with better scripts -- ahead of him.