Manipulation

Its not perfect by no means, the script has much to be desired and at times the acting was unconvincing. But when I went into the Cinema I wasn't expecting anything mind-blowing, in fact I wasn't expecting anything at all. Surprisingly I didn't seam to find the movie overly predictable, however at times its dramatically far fetched. Notably the complete stupidity of a shooting occurring in broad day light in a busy European city going unnoticed. All this being said, the movie is entertaining. I wasn't at any moment particularly board with its rather slow beginning moving on to a fast paces final hour. Surprisingly Ewan McGregor seamed to portray the role fairly well with the exception of a few noticeable accent slips. Michelle Williams on the other hand has much to be desired. In no way am I suggesting she's a great actress but I was surprised at how unconvincingly she portrays a rather simple role. Its definitely a mixed bag, where on one hand its very engaging and on the other it has obvious flaws. I recommend it, you'll be thoroughly entertained but try not going in the theatre expecting to much.

Two things to say about this film.

Firstly, what an astoundingly rubbish title for a movie. "Deception"??? Oh, come on. Can you think of a more non-committal, less interesting, less imaginative title for a movie? I can't. All thrillers are about deception, of one kind or another.

"Deception" originally went into production under the title "The List". Hmm... Well... OK. I admit it. That title is also pretty bad. Then, "Deception" was going to be called "The Tourist". Now, I kind of like that. Sounds art house and kind of strange. Conjures up images of an observer, an outsider. Somebody not in the loop. In fact, pretty much the character that Ewan McGregor plays.

Secondly, what a completely rubbish movie! OK, maybe not completely rubbish. Just mostly rubbish.

"Deception" is a good 20 minutes too long. After a while it just seems to go on and on. The climax is misjudged and mistimed. The sex is typical Movies 24 soft core erotica, or maybe a Friday night Channel 5 movie from the early Noughties. You know the kind of thing. Soft focus humping to a soundtrack of screaming saxophone driven jazz. (Mind you don't trip over the cliché, there chief!) Also, every plot twist in "Deception" is signposted way in advance. If you don't get at least one of the major plot twists then, frankly, you really should give up watching movies. Pretty lame, pretty dull, pretty bad movie.

I said 'mostly rubbish', so some of it must have been good. Yes?

I did like the film's chilly, European ambiance. I liked the idea of powerful people, too isolated and too busy to develop human relationships. I liked Hugh Jackman's well dressed and cold instigator, Ewan McGregor's lonely accountant and Michelle Williams' bruised vulnerability. I thought all three leads made the most of their underwritten roles, but sadly it was not enough.

There is plenty of space in this world for a good, sexualised thriller (see the original "Basic Instinct"), but sadly "Deception" was nothing like a good sexualised thriller.

The thriller genre has been well explored and perfected over decades of cinema. While some familiar elements and conventions are to be expected in a new release, you would expect, at the very least, that a new entry tops the previous ones.

And sadly, Deception does not. The movie almost feels like a remake of Curtis Hanson's Bad Influence. A movie that was made almost twenty years ago and features two main characters that are carbon copies of those of McGregor and Jackman, only they were played respectively by James Spader and Rob Lowe.

Whatever "twists" are found in Deception, you see them coming from a mile and they fall flat. The acting? Everybody seems to be cashing his check. One-dimensional characters and an aimless plot make for a boring two hours. Even the "list" subplot feels tacked on and doesn't even provide any enjoyment, nor does it add anything to the film.

The photography is amazing but this is truly a poor Hollywood movie and one that you will be better off passing on, unless you are a die-hard fan of the genre or one of the main actors featured. All in all, a tremendous waste of talent and resources due to a crappy script.

"The essence of lying is in deception, not in words." John Ruskin

The only deception in the film Deception is that you might expect a cool, modern thriller. WRONG. This piece of cinematic disappointment defines the dramatic descriptor "telegraph." In other words, if you didn't have an idea of what is to come from what is happening now, then you've not been to junk movies enough not to be surprised. Of course, you can feel right at home with the pervasive use of cell phones, but then you may watch enough TV to be used to them as dramatic device.

Jonathan McQuarry (Ewan McGregor) is a dorky high-level auditor with the requisite glasses and outdated haircut who stumbles into a sex ring, aided by the urbane Wyatt Bose (High Jackman). As Jonathan enjoys himself picking the ever so sweet fruit from this vine, he falls in love with one of the anonymous partners, not a good thing to do.

The ensuing plot complications are as clichéd as clouds in Seattle—they don't always make sense, but, hey, this is the movies! The problem is that without a sharp script, the inconsistencies are more obvious and plot points just not credible, e.g., how does she magically appear at the right spot in a big city? or how can you commit a murder in a public park in Madrid without anyone around in broad daylight? or how can you get a phony passport on short notice? or how can you withdraw millions with that document especially since the photo ID online doesn't look close to your impersonation? or, oh, well, I'm not going to deceive you—this movie lacks credibility.

The thing is that the plot takes too many turns, so many that the movie ties itself in knots and must resort to a lot of silliness to develop a finale and get out of the whole mess. The early moments are quite involving, showing the nerd-player friendship taking to something scary. Nevertheless, in spite of the good beginning, I figure the two leads have never the chemistry that would explain why they got drawn to one - another, so moments where the viewer would say "OK, everything seems to work" are very rare. The story gets then ridiculous in the end due to many plot twist that poop a film otherwise decent. There's also a cameo of Charlotte Rampling.