Derailed Movie
Storyline
TAGLINES
Some lines should never be crossed.
They Never Saw It Coming.
Charles is worn down by his home life where he and his wife struggle to cope with the demands their daughter's illness, and his job. When he meets Lucinda on the train to work in Chicago, there is an immediate spark between them. Soon they are doing lunch; dinner and drinks follow. This leads to an adulterous rendezvous in an hotel. But no sooner have they torn each others' clothes off than their room is invaded by a thief who beats Charles and rapes Lucinda.Because of the illicit nature of their relationship, Charles is reluctant to go to the Police and soon finds himself powerless to resist the every demand of the thief.
| Vincent Cassel | Philippe LaRoche |
| Clive Owen | Charles Schine |
| Jennifer Aniston | Lucinda Harris |
| Addison Timlin | Amy Schine |
| Melissa George | Deanna Schine |
| Sandra Bee | Train Conductor |
| RZA | Winston Boyko |
| William Armstrong | Accountant |
| Tom Conti | Elliot Firth |
| Rachel Blake | Susan Davis |
| Richard Leaf | Hotel Clerk |
| Xzibit | Dexter |
| Catherine McCord | Avery-Price Receptionist |
| Denis O'Hare | Jerry the Lawyer |
| Georgina Chapman | Candy |
| Mikael Håfström |
6.40 out of 10 (13416 votes)
Visitor Reviews
we gotta keep two steps ahead....
posted on 14 Aug 2009Charles is in a dull job and a dull marriage. The only thing that is keeping him at home is his daughter, who is suffering from diabetes, and from a result of this, has renal failure. After three failed kidney transplants, Charles has been saving up for seven years for a cure to his daughters ailment.Late for the train and short of money for the fare, he meets Lucinda, who offers to pay for his ticket. They embark on a friendship, and ultimately succumb to their carnal desires.unfortunately, just as they are about to 'get it on', they are interrupted by a criminal who assaults them both and steals their personal identification. Racked with guilt, they are reluctant to go the authorities and decide to call it a day.but the criminal hasn't finished with Charles yet, he wants to bleed him dry. so what ensues is a race against time for Charles to keep his secret away from his wife and to protect his family and conscience at the potential risk of his daughters life.first off, Clive Owen is very good as Charles, in probably his second best role (after closer) he makes the audience feel guilty about his secret but at the same time disgust the audience at his gall to risk his daughters life at the cost of saving his loveless marriage.Cassel too is menacing as LaRoche, he has the panache to be evil and yet at the same time charming, he is the standout in this film.the only let down is Aniston who just gives the game away from the beginning. The moment she offers to pay for Charles' ticket, you know she is in on the game. plus the chemistry between the two leads are obsolete. the chat up lines Charles gives to Lucinda/Jane are just cringe worthy.there were a few instances where i thought i might have been wrong, but alas i was right all along.the ending is cheer worthy, but instead of the normal Hollywood ending, i wish the writer would have gone for something a little more downbeat.overall a good film, but if you are a fan of Hitchcock or De Palma, the twist will be realised more or less straight away
Anniston not a nice girl
posted on 12 Aug 2009For a change Jennifer Anniston is not the sweet young thing in the movies. She was okay in what seems at times written as a one level character. She gives it a bit more. But just a bit. The movie is too long and repeats itself. Clive Owen sucked. Maybe it was the character, but he never raises above one dimension until the very end. A constant coward recoiling from life and walking around in a sort of daze throughout the picture. No sympathy here. Cheats on his wife and daughter and then regrets the indiscretion.The villains fared better in this. Vincent Cassel was wonderfully evil as was his cohort played by Xzibit, if that's a name. They made the movie for me. It was nice to see Denis O'Hare on the screen. A fine stage actor whom I saw in TAKE ME OUT on Bway., Plays too small a role as the lawyer. Mikael Hafstrom directed.So I give this attempt 3 stars for Anniston and the two villains.
You won't know what hit you
posted on 12 Aug 2009Excellent thriller, the best I've seen in ages aside A History Of Violence. This movie had only ONE flaw. And that flaw is just an opinion, others may have liked it.The premise is Charles and Lucinda lead business-orientated lives and are married with children... But they lust for one another after a happen-by-chance meeting aboard a train to work. After a few lunches they decide to go out for a drink which leads to a hotel... Suddenly someone breaks into their room, robs them at gunpoint, and rapes Lucinda while Charles can't do much about it. They can't go to police due to their reputations and family. Soon enough things get more scary when the thief decides to get more money out of Charles in exchange for keeping his secrets.Little did I know what this movie would lead into. It was excellently portrayed, the music was perfect, and it had me on the edge of my seat. Clive Owen is an excellent actor and this was a very different role for Aniston in my opinion since I always see her in comedies. I was surprised too, by RZA who I've never seen in any films. I figured he would just be another wanna-be rapper-turned-actor but he pulled off exceedingly well. Xzibit had a minor role but didn't prove much since it seemed he was playing on his own rap persona. That didn't help nor hurt the film in any way. Now, my favorite performance was our villain Vincent Cassel. He had that dark, violent look in him and I just loved his character.The only flaw I felt in this movie was the last 10 minutes of the movie. I sort of felt that that scene wasn't really necessary and it should have been ended just before that. It was a little too "unbelievable" if you will. Otherwise the twists in this movie were incredible and totally unexpected. This is well worth your eyes. I don't know about a purchase since there isn't much features on the DVD, but definitely worth a rental.
She's better in the tabloids...
posted on 04 Aug 2009I am so tired of hearing about the over-rated Jennifer Aniston. She gives Clive Owen nothing to work with. She is tense, and her eyes are completely vacant, even in the most emotional scenes. It's great that people feel sympathy for the newly dumped Aniston, but to give her credit as a great actress is ridiculous! She was great fun on friends, and let's just leave it at that. There are so many talented actresses out there that would have been better suited for the part(should I mention Angelina Jolie....). Even without mentioning the A.J. word, look at the chemistry that Owen had with Natalie Portman in Closer. She would have been a much better choice. Owen was great as always, but the script was silly, and beneath his talents. There was no chemistry with the ever stiff Aniston, and it gave us nothing to get carried away with, which is what this film sorely needed!!!
Not a Train-wreck...
posted on 04 Aug 2009"Derailed" is, in its defense, not a complete train-wreck. The cast is decent, the plot isn't terrible, and the cinematography is not hard on the eyes. However, the film is painfully average, taking few risks and really accomplishing nothing as a film.Clive Owen really has to carry this movie, being that he's on-screen almost the entire time, and he does a decent job, achieving multiple dimensions that the other characters fail to. Jennifer Aniston's role is actually more of a minor character, and she's very static. However, Aniston does a fine job provided with what she has to work with. The real villain in the film is "LaRoche," who is not intimidating enough most of the time. He's very proper in front of "Clive's" family and other people not involved heavily with the plot, and I felt that too much of this phony politeness carried over into the scenes where he is called to be gritty and extremely villainous.As a thriller, "Derailed" isn't all that thrilling. The plot seems very reminiscent of "Vertigo" and "Fatal Attraction," two very creepy films, but this film takes the less frightening aspects of both and tones them down. Also, most of the characters are so flat that they're simply dull to watch. Owen's character was the only real point of interest. Still, "Derailed" has a few creepy and shocking moments, and it's worth recommending to any serious Clive Owen fans.
something missing
posted on 02 Aug 2009Being a FRIENDS fan, I was curious on how the cast handled their career after the hit series. I'm not a fan of Jennifer Aniston, but since she had her share of fanfare publicity these past few weeks, I grabbed the chance to get advanced tickets to this movie. It was, sadly, a complete waste of money.No spoilers, just comments on the film. Clive Owen,as always, is dashing and sexy. But there is no chemistry between him and Aniston. Owen shines more than Aniston. And when I see Aniston on the secret, I hear "Rachel Green! Rachel Green!".Although Jennifer Aniston's role is interesting, she played it in a "Rachel Green-on-Valium" kind of way. She's too pretty, and she's too talked-about that one can't help see the gossips/rumours instead of the character she attempts to bring to life. Maybe it's the script as well, I didn't find it that good.Story and cinematography was interesting, directing so-so. Actors, so-so as well. A few minor changes in the script and the actors (hint hint) it would've been a better film.
Watchable, but plagued with problems
posted on 29 Jul 2009The Weinsteins decided to split from Casa de Disney last year. While Disney had been good to them, it seems like Bob and Harvey wanted a bit more creative control than they had. So with their split came their first film, Derailed. And while it is not that bad, it's nowhere near up to the same par that many films from the Miramax library are at.Charles Schine (Clive Owen) works in advertising, and handles many large accounts. He has turmoil in his marriage with his substitute teacher wife Deanna (Melissa George), and is continuing to fight to keep his daughter Amy (Addison Timlin) alive with dialysis. He commutes to work every day on the train, and one day he happens to have forgotten to buy a ticket, or bring money to pay for one on the train. When threatened with being taken off the train at the next stop, Lucinda (Jennifer Aniston) steps in and decides to pay for it for him.They take a shining to each other, and begin to converse. He promises to pay the money back to her the next day, and does. So they continue talking, and one day, he calls her up at her law office, and asks her to dinner. They end up at a bar, and further decide to make out, despite both having spouses and children. They get in a cab, and eventually end up a hotel. They continue making out after getting a room, but are stopped by a thief, LaRoche (Vincent Cassel), who only continues to make their lives, specially Charles', a living hell after that night.The problem I had with this movie was the believability. Charles does not seem like a naive guy, but he becomes one right after LaRoche starts making threats left, right and center. He does not bother calling the cops, he just continues questioning himself, and doing as he's told by everyone. Never does he stop and think about what he is doing, or what others are doing. He just goes along with it. By the time he gets himself into trouble and realizes that something more may be happening, it is far too late for the audience.The whole story plays out to be totally disappointing by the end of it. The director, Mikael Håfström, knows that the screenplay is toying with the audience, and knows that they are fairly intrigued by the entire thing. But then it plays out longer than it needs to, and it just goes on and on, until the ending reveals itself. And by then, it has gotten so dragged out that the audience wants it to end quickly and less painfully than the previous minutes were. But then it continues on afterwards. Why? To tie everything up in a nice package. Did this need to be done? Of course not. I never read the book, but I can only hope it was not as dragged out as this was.Owen plays Charles with finesse, but as the plot begins unwinding, his character really begins to lessen. I understand that he's playing two halves of the same character here (a before the "events" and after the "events" type of guy), but he's just not as good in the second half as he is the first. Aniston is not perfect, but she suits her character, and does fairly well with the role. I was surprised to find that she was not in the film nearly as much as Owen, but her parts were all fairly well done. George and Timlin, who are in the film even less than Aniston, prove worthy of their moments, and give the film a much greater depth that the key storyline takes away from.Cassel comes off as over-the-top, and just plain silly in some scenes (much like his role in Ocean's 12). He just does not seem to have any of the power needed to truly pull this role off, and feels weak in comparison to Owen or Aniston. Both of those actors have their problems in their roles, but Cassel just comes off as totally wrong for his role. Xzibit and RZA in their small roles are fairly well done, and shine in the film. They feel a bit underused in the whole scheme of things, but their roles work, and like George and Timlin, add to depth of the film.The first half of the film is pretty well done, but it only is dragged out from there. By the time it's finally over, any impact the film had made originally, is totally lost and never returns. The supporting cast may be very good, but the main cast has too many problems to make this function any better than it could have. It's watchable, but not by a long stretch.7/10.
Misleading During Setup And Somewhat Predictable In Execution
posted on 27 Jul 2009There seems to be an annoying trend in Hollywood these days which consists of film studios constantly misleading you regarding a films premise via trailers and previews. Sometimes I end up being pleasantly surprised as a film turns out to far superior to what's portrayed in it's trailer, other times I feel like I should have just stuck with the trailer. Derailed falls somewhere in between these two extremes.As depicted in its trailers and the first half an hour or so of the film, Derailed is supposed to be about two married business execs who are blackmailed by an outside source while having an affair with one another. The buildup to and about 15 minutes after the affair are pretty solid. Owen and Aniston do a good job at first of convincing you that they are broken and lost as to what to do after they are threatened at gunpoint and it's made obvious that they will soon be blackmailed for their actions. However following the affair and once we begin to see that the threats are virtually one sided, it becomes pretty obvious as to what the first twist will be. What director Mikael Hafstrom should have done was give us more chemistry between Owen and Aniston. I felt like the film could have been so much better if instead of having Cassel's threaten Owen and disappear for a few months, he'd blackmail Owen and leave until Owen fell in with Aniston again. Instead Vincent Cassel's character comes off as nothing more than a punk who's out to toy with Owen as just when Owen's character thinks he's safe he gets a phone call and a demand for more money than the last time. It's around this time that key plot twists become evident before they're even exposed. The fact that Aniston only claims to have been threatened and we never see said threats along with anything regarding her private life on screen makes viewers suspicious. When we finally see her at gunpoint again, Owen is once again present and one begins to wonder why Aniston only gets toyed with in front of Owen. It eventually becomes evident that the majority of the film is not about two folks being played by a third party, but rather by Owen himself being played. We see him trying to outsmart the man blackmailing him and it ending in disaster. During this half hour or so of Owen being toyed with I began to lose interest and was almost derailed from this film myself. It's not up until the last 20 minutes or so that the story picks up again. While the plot becomes predictable after the first half hour or so the final scenes help to salvage this picture. We're given a few unexpected twists and although their outcome results in a somewhat questionable (ethically speaking) ending, the film at least closes on a note of satisfaction in that the guy who's been getting screwed over throughout the entire film gets his and learns "not to be the nice guy all the time" by finally standing up for himself and doing what he feels is necessary to survive. All in all Derailed is a flawed picture that sags in the middle but starts and ends strong enough to at least warrant a rental. Owen gives a great performance here as does Cassel. Surprisingly the RZA and Xzibit also give pretty good performances as well despite their reputations as B Grade actors. However while I was pleased with her performance Jennifer Aniston simply did not get enough screen time to flesh out her character. I was definitely interested in seeing more chemistry between the two leads and wished Hafstrom had better developed the affair between Owen and Aniston as I not only wanted to see more of her on screen, but I felt that it could've helped the story along. In the end Derailed is flawed picture but it's at least worth a rental if you're into the genre. Just be prepared for a story you might not be expecting based on the trailer. 6.5/10.
Jennifer Aniston actually is a good actress
posted on 25 Jul 2009Friends is one of those typical American stupid comedies. So you can imagine, how I felt about Jennifer Aniston. Indeed, felt - I had to change my opinion after seeing Derailed. This is good stuff, unless you are not used to European style of story-telling. Some say, that the movie starts slow. I cannot less agree. Of course Derailed is not that kind of brainless highspeed flick, that is so popular nowadays. Derailed spends time to character and tension building. No single scene in the beginning is superfluous, all contain relevant information. Take eg the love scene of Charles and his wife. Watch it closely; it explains why goes off on the sly. The spectator is gradually fed with bits and pieces. Vincent Cassel is top of the bill in France. He is perfectly cast. Watch him pretending the well mannered business man. I can think of only two more threatening characters, Gian-Maria Volonte in For a few dollars more and Robert de Niro in Cape Fear.Clive Owen is excellent as the somewhat annoyingly naive guy, who finally decides to fight back. This is probably the first movie with him I have seen and I will remember that name. It does happen very seldomly, but somewhere halfway the movie I shouted to the screen: "come on, stupid, do something! LaRoche will not get off your back."Jennifer Aniston has made me forget about her other mediocre performances. Like most other reviewers I had no clue of what was coming. Still her turnover is absolutely believable.Also note the clever structure of the movie. Even the introduction in jail. So the spectator knows, that Charles will end up in jail. But how? The symmetry of the two seduction scenes is very beautiful. The reappearance of LaRoche at the end is frightening.Finally the small role of Giancarlo Esposito deserves special mentioning. Not that any, any side role is bad, on the contrary.Derailed proves, how fruitful European/American cooperation can be. The Swede Hafstrom clearly is a very talented director.
don't even think about it
posted on 21 Jul 2009This was so insultingly ridiculous, I'm ashamed I wasted even the few minutes on it that I did.It's the kind of awful movie that engenders so much frustration and outrage, I have to wonder if Hitchcock wasn't dead right: actors are cattle.(If they honestly had brains and sensibility, how could they consent to lend their time and energy to such implausible rubbish?).Respect for Aniston and Owen has taken a serious nosedive.The producers of such stuff show their disrespect for the public--they really must think we're all Cossacks, as John Fowles suggested in his novel, DANIEL MARTIN.
Derailed: awful
posted on 09 Jul 2009This movie was so bad. I was very disappointed in Clive Owen. RZA was good though. I did not like it at all. Not very impressed with Jennifer Aniston either. The previews made it look pretty good then I watched it.I love Clive Owen, I have liked every other movie he has been in. I was not impressed with his performance at all. He was getting his butt kicked throughout the movie. I expect more when I watch him. And then there is Jennifer, what was up with her. It was unbelievable. What happened? I will say it started out good and the ending wasn't bad . What happened in between? I did enjoy RZA. He did a nice job. That was the only thing in the movie I liked. I did not like this movie at all. I would not recommend this movie to anyone.
Much better then expected
posted on 05 Jul 2009I wasn't interested in this movie; but when your plans for the weekend are ruined by unreliable friends, I found myself watching this movie and was blown away. The themes seem to be very obvious as the film progresses but it all changes when the Clive's character finds out the truth.Charles meets Lucinda during his train journey back home and begins a affair; after booking into a shady hotel they are attacked by LaRoche who rapes Lucinda and batters Charles...Lucinda decides to forget the whole ordeal while Charles faces demands from the rapist in order to keep his affair a secret from his wife. Charles is forced to pay more and more money and then he begins to unravel the big..Con.Lucinda is a con-artist and lures wealthy men who witness the 'rape' and feel guilty and are compelled to pay the ransom demands.The film highlights the risks of having an affair in my view and I found Jennifers character to be unrealistic because of her fear to tell her husband about a rape. And then I put the puzzle together, the ending is very satisfying....The actors are fantastic in their roles and its great to see Xhibit try acting for a change; Cassel is great as the con man while Clive does his best to portray a man pushed to the edge while Jenn succeeds as the damsel in distress and 'bitch'....An underrated movie that you should watch.
Alright Movie.
posted on 01 Jul 2009Basically, it was a good movie until it didn't follow the book and cut out a whole chunk of the book.Removes Motive for why Charles killed the Person who "supposedly" raped Lucinda. It suddenly went from Charles being angry to murdering him. It just didn't make sense. However in the Book they actually went though why Charles did so, why he was pushed towards killing that person.Basically in the book, (been awhile forgot his name) the person in the jail, kept stalking his family even after he was put into jail. He kept making it obvious that he was monopolizing all the Incelin (Charles's Daughter requires special Diabetes medicine made out of pig fat i think or something that wasn't synthetically made). Charles then got pushed into the corner, thinking that he can protect his family, so he helps out at the Jail, and then aggravates the rapist, and murders him.
Far better than expected.
posted on 29 Jun 2009This movie was unexpectedly entertaining and suspenseful. One of the better dramatic thrillers that I have seen in some time. I thoroughly enjoyed this film and would recommend it to those who have a free evening and are in the mood for an exciting ride. The acting in this film, by all characters except Xhibit (although he will make you chuckle), is very well done and only adds to the quality of this film. Derailed has a high level of intensity which is only complemented by the good writing and great characters. I was thoroughly pleased with this film. I am still uncertain as to why the critics did not appreciate the entertainment value of this movie. Again, I thoroughly enjoyed this film and would recommend it to most everyone.
Couldn't get the feel of it
posted on 15 Jun 2009First off, pairing Clive with Aniston was like being forced to eat a peanut butter sandwich on dry bread. I was like, "Where's the jelly?". I knew this in my heart but hoped Aniston's acting would some how prove me wrong. It never happened. Her acting just doesn't cut it on the big screen & Clive would have been better paired off with an unknown or someone of star status. The movie was OK but no one could pay me a month's salary to sit there & watch it again. Actually I fell asleep an hour into the movie so what does that tell you, and I was wide awake when I went in. It's OK if you have some spare time to kill & pocket money to throw away. Owen doesn't let us down even tho the plot was messy & the out come obvious. I guess that's why I fell asleep till my friends woke me up to leave 10 minutes before the end. Boy were they disappointed. This should sum it up for those of you who hadn't seen it yet.
I thought the movie was great
posted on 11 Jun 2009I really enjoyed this movie. I saw it with my husband, the rape scene in the beginning set the tone for the whole movie, and I was honestly surprised about Jennifer Aniston's character. The whole time I was in the movie theater I sat on the edge of my seat, because I wanted to know what else was going to take place. The ending was great! I can't wait for this movie to come out on DVD, The movie may have not done as well because Aniston's character was not her usual goofy, fun loving self but that made it all the better for me. I know a lot of people on here didn't like the movie, but I just wanted to say there is someone out there who did! :)
So Hollywood CAN Still Do It!
posted on 11 Jun 2009Good one. One short sentence says it all: My eyes were glued to the screen the whole time. I was "deliciously" surprised and shocked at several turns in the plot. Jennifer Aniston turns in another great performance. Have enjoyed all movies in which I've seen her, from ROCK STAR to THE GOOD GIRL. All the actors melted into their roles, though, including the vile villains, LaRoche and company. The "Winston" character was particularly convincing, evoking much emotion. That's what I like in a movie. Touch me. Make me feel. This is first time I've seen Clive Owen. He's called on to act out the widest range of emotion here, and is definitely up to the task as the main character, Charles Schine. Will look for him in other movies, as well as the detective seen towards the end of the movie (Sam Douglas?), menacingly probing but cool. Yeah. Hooray for Hollywood on this one -- and the writers and director.
derailed-great thriller
posted on 05 Jun 2009You cannot be disappointed the film is very good. very smart script with excellent and powerful performances by Clive Owen and Jennifer Aniston. Jennifer brilliantly plays the character, you will forget she was playing Rachel Green for ten years in Friends. you do not get bored something happens all the time and you will be surprised by the ending.It all starts when two ordinary people meet on the train,Clive forgets his money for the ticket and Jen offers to pay for him. he goes to talk to her and since then they start talking over the phone having launches together, secretly form their families as they are both married with kids. they end up in a hotel but then someone breaks in and steals their money (Vincent Cassel. but it doesn't stop there as he continues to bother Clive for more money. and it is there where it gets really intense. Enjoy it is really good.
Perfectly unsettling.... so long as you go in with an open mind...
posted on 05 Jun 2009Have you ever seen a movie that you have never before heard about? Maybe you went to a video store and said, "Hmm, that looks interesting" or had a friend insist you see a certain movie? Well, Derailed is one of those movies.Ruined by those that decided to plaster the ending all around the internet before it ever came out, Derailed was criticized long before the public ever got their fair chance to see and critique it. I remember coming to the message boards here right after I saw it on the first day it came out and reading "The ending was so obvious" and "You're an idiot if you didn't know what was coming." I had decided I didn't want to listen to what anyone was saying about the movie until after I had seen it. And now I am one of the lucky few that actually got to see this movie as it was meant to be seen... without the spoilers running as rampant as an M. Night Shyamalan movie.On a day that starts out like any other, Charles Schine (Owen) boards his usual train to work in Chicago, escaping his ailing marriage (his wife played by George) and a very ill diabetic daughter, in desperate need of a kidney transplant. The day changes very quickly, however, when he meets Lucinda Harris (Aniston), a woman feeling just as frustrated with her marriage and her one child. The two become friendly and soon enough become "too friendly." After an evening of flirting at a bar, they end up in a hotel room. While getting down to err business a man storms into their room (Cassel). He knocks out Charles and rapes Lucinda. After the incident, Lucinda panics when Charles suggests going to the police, out of fear that the fact that she was having an affair would get back to her abusive husband. They agree to keep it quiet.... until their attacker begins blackmailing them.The entire movie revolves around Owen, who keeps his audience walking on eggshells just like his character. Aniston does wonders for her performance and Cassel is by far the scariest villain I have come across in a very long time. I left the theater completely horrified simply because I didn't let anyone else ruin the movie for me.Long story short: Ignore what everyone else has said; just sit back and let the movie run it's course... that's the way it was meant to be seen.
An old basic premise - ordinary guy gets entangled in a web of deceit, betrayal, danger, etc. Hitchcock and others have used this many times.
posted on 18 Aug 2009SPOILERS follow: This story is a variation on the old "Badger Game."(See Wikipedia for details). I haven't heard that term in more than fifty years. A character like Winston probably would have seen this scam right away; and certainly Charles' lawyer would have. The story that follows is so illogical and has so many unlikely ways that events occur that one should watch this movie for the characters and views of Chicago. Keeping this in mind, I will say that it was certainly exciting and worth one's time.A couple of logical fallacies, I believe. Why was it necessary to simulate the rape; in this scam there is no need to keep the woman's part a secret. And I don't recall seeing a camera being used. How did the blackmailer intend to prove that the attempted adultery took place? I guess that the violence Charles witnessed - both real and simulated - were to intimidate him enough into payingAnd as for the ending. I see that shank driven into LaRouche's belly to be symbolic of driving a stake into the heart of a vampire.