Duplicity

Where is the dupe in duplicity?

Ex-intelligence operatives Julia Roberts and Clive Owen decide to go into business for themselves. Moreover, they would not mind being romantically evolved. The only problem is can they trust each other. They take an economic opportunity by infiltrating two rival pharmaceutical companies. Each company uses all sorts of tactics to get one upon each other. Will the ex-agents succeed with any of their goals?

The film relies excessively much on flashbacks within flashbacks to the point that the whole film is just one big flashback. It is very annoying. It goes out of the way to mask needed information from us instill it is over-explained in the flashback.

I found the movie fun to watch. I was occasionally misled. Now if they could have just gotten rid of all the flashbacks.

Two corporate spies (Owen & Roberts) hook up (after knowing each other a while back) to pull off a scheme to get 40 Million dollars. The mission is to infiltrate a company that each other work in, and expose a secret product the company is releasing. Soon things get out of plan, and the two spies realize they have more feelings for each other than they recently thought. I've been a fan of Clive Owen ever since Children of Men, and I was so gratified to see Julia Roberts back on the screen. A few years ago both Clive and Julia did a movie together called "Closer", and it was satisfying to see them back together again. Their performances together are the only uplifting value of this film. Although we could have used more of Paul Giamatti and definitely more Tom Wilkinson, the entire cast was perfect for this film. This movie had too much potential in the first half, but after that it becomes a confusing and mind boggling mess of a movie. There were so many twists, and confused story telling even I heard some of the audience members yell out "Huh? What was that about?" The script was good, but the story was horribly told that it came to a very disappointing outcome. That's a shame because I was expecting to enjoy a good suspense movie that wasn't confusing. Duplicity is a often funny and well acted movie, but you'll have to find either the film's director or the screenwriter to translate the story for you, or else you won't get it. It surprisingly turns romantic in the end which makes it a fairly good date movie, but you'll be more confused than dazzled. I have to say skip this movie, and if you want to see Julia Roberts at her best rent Erin Brockovich. If you want to see Clive Owen at his best rent Inside Man. Need I say more?

"Duplicity" is a likable thriller, mostly for Clive Owen and Julia Roberts. If you like these stars, chances are you will like this movie. Owen is handsome and suave, both in an expensive suit and in nothing but a bedsheet. Julia Roberts is as beautiful and sexy as ever, but in a new, worldly wise, jaded way.

"Duplicity" is set in glamorous, international locations and its clever script focuses on trust, risk, betrayal and love. So far so good. "Duplicity"'s twist falls a bit flat, though, and belief in it requires that the viewer conclude that characters who had previously been presented as very bright and masterful suddenly be revealed to have been duped by a ruse so obvious even I, no superspy, saw it coming. The final payoff is a fizzle, rather than a joyous explosion.

Denis O'Hare, an actor unfamiliar to me, is strangely compelling as Duke, a low level spy. It was fun realizing how an older, not very handsome actor can, just with his innate acting skill, take a minor, functionary role and become the person you most want to watch on screen.

"Duplicity" is a movie that thinks it's too clever for its own good, resulting in a convoluted tangle of corporate espionage and deceit that simply fails to capture the audience's interest. From the outset, the film promises an ingenious plot, but what it delivers is a boring and confusing experience that loses its viewers at every turn.

The narrative of "Duplicity" takes its protagonists from Dubai to Italy, from London to Miami, from Cleveland to Zurich, in a marathon of travel that is not just geographical but also temporal. The movie is riddled with constant flashbacks that count back in ever-smaller time segments, supposedly to build tension akin to a bomb about to explode. However, this bomb never goes off with the expected intensity. With each previous encounter revealed, we're supposed to be closer to understanding the master plan, but instead of clarifying, each plot twist only adds more confusion.

Even when you think you've finally deciphered what's going on, "Duplicity" hits you with yet another twist that changes your perception of everything you've just seen, not in an exciting way, but in a manner that feels forced and, frankly, exhausting. The film tries too hard to be smart, but the result is far less refreshing and original than it should have been; instead, it feels like an idea we've seen before, only executed in a way that's so complex it becomes tedious.

Set in the high-stakes world of corporate espionage, this is a film built on the interplay between writer/director and viewer. It jumps from the present to flashbacks repeatedly, every time revising the viewer's understanding of present-day action.

There is ambiguity in the intentions of Ray (Clive Owen) and Claire (Julia Roberts), rival agents who join forces, it seems, to pull off a big payday. This is a romance between two people who never trust anyone. Is such a thing possible? The film keeps us guessing as each flashback adds another layer of understanding, in effect rewriting the story.

One must pay attention to follow the narrative as it twists, turns, and doubles back on itself, but the payoff is worth it.

One of my favorite things about this film is the music. The film credits James Newton Howard, who has a nearly-endless list of compositional accomplishments. The accompaniment to the opening credits of this film is a good indication of what is to come musically.

Much like "The Thomas Crown Affair", comedy is interwoven with the drama in an enjoyable way. A strong cast, well directed, keeps things just light enough that the drama is not undercut.