User reviews

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.

Having just finished the enormously disappointing 'The International,' a 2009 espionage thriller starring Clive Owen, I can't believe I saw 'Duplicity'…another 2009 espionage thriller starring Clive Owen. Sue me, I'm a Julia Roberts fan, I actually like Owen – we all make mistakes so no judgments on some projects, and I love a good 'Ocean's Eleven'-type spy/dark comedy. Fortunately, after having to take several breaks in 'Duplicity' and wanting to turn this off for good, I stuck through to the end. I'm glad I did. Few horrible movies, as I thought this was slowly becoming, reach out and grab me in the closing. Perfect movie? By no means; it's barely average, but if you allow yourself, like I did, to reach the climax, you'll probably be equally surprised. After roughly three-dozen "two weeks ago," "ten years ago," etc, flashbacks, you'll learn Roberts and Owen are capers in love attempting to make a heist (and life) together using their trained skills. After awhile, they settle down between two rivaling companies bent on cosmetology, products, etc. You, the viewer, pick up clues along the way on whose side who's on and who you can trust. Big problems with the film started with an maddening slow-mo Wilkinson/Giamatti intro, then the endless boxed in scenes (dang, I know style, but this was as ridiculous and annoying as Lee's 'Hulk' comic book, uh, approach to minimizing the screen) and with the extreme lack of chemistry between the two leads. Sure, Owens is swift and good, but Roberts looks fresh off the 'Ocean's' set, with almost zero charisma she was built on in the early 90s. In fact, she just looks tired. Motherhood might do that. Nevertheless, it had its moments, and the end ties all the confusion you'll have. I certainly did until the last act.

We need more filmmakers like Tony Gilroy in Hollywood right now. Coming off of his debut feature Michael Clayton, after years of working on stuff like the Bourne movies, to his second film Duplicity, he's marked some strong territory as a guy who can work with top-shelf A-list talent and put them in material that is mature just enough to make it safe for the 30+ year olds to see it and not think their intelligence is being wasted. His films provide such a wealth of juicy scenes of dialog and plots that make us think about what the characters will do next as opposed to just spoon-feeding along the conventions. And even if Duplicity is not quite as excellent as his first film (and suffice to say it's got a couple of things that make it tick) it's still a marker of fine entertainment. At the least, it makes for a strong matinée viewing, if one were to rate it such.

Like one of those features from the 40s or 50s from Hitchcock where he would place Cary Grant and (insert blonde bombshell here), Duplicity relies on its stars, and sometimes its dependable character actor supporting players, to make it more about watching them and how they go about the material as opposed to the real specifics of what to worry in the plot itself. Hitchcock wasn't worried about what was really in the "secret" formula since he knew, maybe rightfully so, that the audience doesn't really care either. When will Grant and Kelly have that kiss? It's certainly a lot more fun trying to explain how well Clive Owen and Julia Roberts fit into this classic Hollywood couple mold (not to mention since it's their second time on-screen following the more theater-based Closer) and play off one another than describing how "one is a MI6 and the other CIA and their operatives in these corporate firms and one might be making a toaster oven or yada yada and they both do A and B and..."

So yeah, basically Duplicity is about conning and about not believing what the other person is saying, but at the same time Gilroy toys around with the idea of people who are stuck in a world where by proxy they can't trust one another but get each other so well who the other is at the same time. The characters Tom Wilkinson and Paul Giamatti play- who, by the way, share one of the funniest and most awesome opening credits sequences I've seen in years- are playing checkers in their corporate one-oneupmanship games, but it's Roberts and Owen that are playing chess which is a little brainier but trickier at the same time.

One might criticize that there's almost too much of this back-and-forth guessing and curiously trying to figure out what the other is saying about something. But if done right in a film it can be fun to watch just to see what move or motive or revelation will come next. And Gilroy has casted these two stars so perfectly that you can lose yourself in these scenes where they keep playing the same guessing games (some dialog deliberately repeated). This helps especially when the actual plot becomes a little silly, and particularly when it's revealed in the last ten minutes what the big TWIST has occurred. It won't do any good to explain what it is, but suffice to say it's a little too convenient to put into exposition, and it's been done before. In a script that is otherwise sharp and clever and dramatically pleasing in construction and character Gilroy falls back on a couple of tired devices towards the end.

It comes dangerously close, as Ebert pointed out, to saying simply "who cares?" But, thankfully, Duplicity does, for at least roughly in total 2/3 of the running time, give us characters to care about and go along for the ride with and so have this sheer joy of an A-list movie that tries to be about the guessing game and cons and covert operations and the nature of this whole thing Gilroy's dealing with. And the last shot, thankfully, tries to put a good coda on everything that's happened. It's a glossy, breezy time in usually the best way. 7.5/10

"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.

Despite the not too high rating I was really trying to really love this movie. I must say it was hard going. Mixed feelings about watching it really. By all means do see it, I did for a part enjoy the movie as it's not bad, it's just not as brilliant as you would hope for. The acting is pretty good. Just look at the cast, they're all professionals. As to the characters, mmmm, they don't really seem to develop a lot, bit too shallow. Is it a thriller, not to sure about that, the element of excitement is missing. Not that it's very predictable but it's not shivering good either. Is it a comedy, no, definitely not, but it has some humor in it. Action movie, thank god no. Mixed feelings, not just about watching it, but about the movie as a whole. I found it confusing to such a level that it misses the thriller bit in it due to that. Again, I would recommend seeing it, it's a good movie, but, just don't get your hopes up too much on a thrilling adventure, it's just not that.

This movie is like every other movie in the past few years- nothing special. Duplicity's trailer make it seem a lot more fun that what it really is. This should have been an Ocean's movie; it certainly has the talent to be. Clive Owens and Julia Roberts (not really looking very glamorous) are good actors and they are supported by other stellar performers. So why isn't this movie very much fun? Well its the writing. There are a lot of so called twist that can be guessed almost immediately. Only one actually surprises you. Also the dialog is not very witty and it should have been. In fact it repeats itself so much as to be annoying. So in the end what could have been a fun little romp turns boring in the end.

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?

Two spies hatch a plan to get rich. This movie is a game pulling the blindfold on everyone, to create a serious tone of grown ups fighting in a sandpit. Hilarious seriousness with great writing and acting to empathise the multi-layered plot. Laughed out loud for most of it, my kind of comedy.

After all the fun, the ending left a sour taste, once taking the blindfold off it was just a sandpit. If you like creative complex comedies this ones for you. Hopefully now you know about the sour ending it won't taste so bad.

I was lured to see this on the promise of a smart, witty slice of old fashioned fun and intrigue - I was conned. A knowing, pretentious, tedious, overlong story which suffocates under its own artifice. Starring Julia Roberts ( Claire Stenwick) ,and Clive Owen (Ray Koval), as "Duplicitous" spies, the film tries to recreate the glitter, froth and intrigue of roles made famous by the likes of Cary Grant in the 1950's, yet fails under leaden direction and total lack of chemistry between the leads.

Director "Michael Clayton" Tony Gilroy also has writing credits for The Bourne series, so his credentials are excellent. But Clive Owen seems ill at ease as a romantic, witty lead apparently yearning for the opportunity to play the more robust part he played in the under rated "International". Julia Roberts shines in one of her better performances, offering more than her obvious glamour but without the quality of script to enable her to truly excel. She seems barely bothered about enticing Owen into bed, and the word play between them consistently falls flat.

An extensive travelogue incorporating London, Rome, New York, Dubai and Geneva provides some scenic interest, as these erstwhile CIA and MI6 spies swap political espionage for industrial espionage turning into criminal espionage. At 126 minutes it is at least 35 minutes too long. Sharper editing, greater pace, and less "flab" might have made this a better picture. But we are left with it as it is, an instantly disposable, and forgettable addition to the respective parties film credits.

I don't watch many crime thrillers, because they usually turn out to be not remotely believable or personal, but Duplicity was a pleasant departure from the stereotype. It was really more of a romantic comedy (-ish dramedy, even) within the structure of a crime thriller. The two lead characters were actually pretty believable, aside from their supernatural cockiness that you kind of have to expect from spies in a spy movie (although I was sad that we got so little background or history on either character). Their troubles definitely weren't common, but they were easy to sympathize with, somehow. On top of that, it was delightful and kind of thrilling to see how their relationship was built. (The movie put together their history piece by piece, rather than giving it to us chronologically, which I generally think is a more fun way of witnessing a story.) The other big part of what made this movie so fun was that the objects of our spies' investigation was a couple of skincare corporations! Finally, we get to see tactical drama surrounding something other than a casino, a bank, or a government. Something like a cosmetics company is mundane enough that it becomes fun to play with in the context of large-scale crime drama. Even our favorite CEO's nerdy remarks ("Well, it's a common misconception that "lotion" and "cream" are the same thing") are kind of endearing and bring you back to the fact that this could be an actual corporation run by actual business nerds. So yes, safe to say that this movie was worth watching, and had me walking out of the theater wishing I was a spy. Go watch it.

Can you think of anything more satisfying than pulling a fast one on someone? It's even more delicious when that particular someone is someone you care about or who has gotten you more times than you would like to remember. The look on their faces when they realize they've been had is worth every painstaking effort you had to make to pull it off. You would think then that DUPLICITY, a film in which two very likable and sneaky folks, Julia Roberts and Clive Owen, who have proved chemistry together from working previously in Mike Nichols' CLOSER, would be sticking it to each other so bad that you would delight in every jab they made at each other. Well, the ultimate joke would be on you then because, while writer/director, Tony Gilroy, positions DUPLICITY as a feisty heist movie by stepping up the cool factor any way he can, it is actually nothing more than a failed prank fallen flat on its pretty Hollywood face.

When we first meet Claire Stenwick and Ray Koval (Roberts and Owen), they are drinking it up in Dubai at the US consulate. She isn't the least bit interested in him and he is working her as hard as he can. I didn't hear it but he must have said the right thing at some point because they end up in bed together. Of course, she was only sleeping with him so that she could drug him and steal some super secret international spy stuff. And naturally, he put aside all of his super secret spy training and allowed himself to be taken in by her beauty. It is a fleeting moment with very little chemistry or connection but this is supposed to be the instance that binds the two in a lust that is supposed to span years and lead to what we're told is true love. They reconnect years later in some other exotic shooting location and concoct a plan to dupe two high profile rival corporations and make off with millions of dollars that will allow them to bask in exorbitantly rich bliss for the rest of their lives. It's a fine plan but I wasn't buying anything.

Gilroy's last directorial effort was his first. MICHAEL CLAYTON earned him respect from critics and contemporaries alike as the film went on to earn a number of Oscar nominations, including Best Picture and Best Director for Gilroy himself. Gilroy enlisted some of the same players he worked with last time out, including composer, James Newton Howard, cinematographer, Robert Elswit and even cast member, Tom Wilkinson, rejoins the gang as the head of one of these soon-to-be-conned corporations. How is it then that when all these folks got together last time, they achieved such subtle perfection while this time, Howard sounds as though he were ripping off the OCEAN'S 11 through 13 scores and Elswit is practically washed out? (Wilkinson is still great as he can do very little wrong in my book.) Perhaps the blame can be placed on Gilroy's most tired screenplay in years. By keeping corporate espionage grounded in reality last time out, he made it fascinating and relatable. By infusing it with Hollywood convention, the whole game was played out before it even began.

DUPLICITY boils down to very little more than two pretty people running games on each other and anyone else they can. The trouble is that the games they're running are amusing only to them and entirely transparent to the rest of us. The truly duplicitous nature of DUPLICITY it would seem is just that everyone on that side of the screen thinks they are so much funnier, so much sneakier and so much more dubious than what we on this side of the screen actually see. Once again, the cool kids are too ignorant to notice that they are nowhere near as cool as they think they are.

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This is a good old-fashioned piece of escapist entertainment lacking the usual violence and thuggery with two very photogenic leads and plenty of comic support. The plot, though, is way more complicated than it need have been. Unless I've missed something (which is quite likely), there's at least one important aspect that remains unexplained, but it didn't hit me until I walked out of the cinema, so my suspension of disbelief at least lasted through the 2 hour running time. Tony Gilroy, the writer-director, is best known for the action-filled Bourne films. There is plenty of action and suspense here too, but also some slow patches – to some extent this is due to the requirements of romantic comedy which has been mixed in to the action formula. The confusion is added to by the over-use of flashbacks which seem to contradict what we have seen earlier.

As the distrustful lovers, Clive Owen and Julia Roberts are totally convincing; I would suggest neither of their spouses see the film. Julia does things quietly, and is the more effective for it. Clive has no trouble establishing himself as a sex magnet, though strangely enough it is shared interests and attitudes rather than sex which keep them together (although we are told the sex is great).

The story itself is wound our heroes' plan to exploit the insane competition between two huge corporations making bathroom products. One of them, with a name that sounds like Proctor and Gamble, is run by a lordly CEO called Howard Tully played by Tom Wilkinson, the other Equiklunk (or something) is run by Richard Garsink, played by Paul Giamatti, who is more of a street fighter. A sight gag at the start – a fight between the two of them at an airport – establishes that their competition is personal. The shampoo business is just a means to an end – victory for one, humiliation for the other. While Wilkinson is no more than OK as Tully, Giamatti hugely enjoys himself as the driven Garsink almost to the point of caricature. The underlings are also a lot of fun.

Naturally there is plenty of elegant scenery – five star hotels, casinos and resorts, executive jets, huge offices, as well as the streets of Manhattan. Tully has an office you could put a bowling alley in, while Garsink, a lover of disguise, actually goes to a bowling alley to consult with his security operatives. Yet the picture of the world of the private spy is less than alluring. The problem is the same as other areas of private practice – awful clients. It would take a very large amount of money to make me want to make the world safe for a brand of shampoo, even if it had miraculous properties. At bottom though this is romance and without giving the ending away it's a fair bet our distrustful couple will find romance, if not the pot of gold.

I was really looking forward to something like the Bourne movies... another from Tony Gilroy who seems to be making a splash these days. But these "who's telling the truth and who's a trickster?" films are getting old. Too many are rolling out of Hollywood. I thought 'The Departed' by Scorsese did the best job in recent years - a much more satisfying movie, in my book. With meaning. Dealing with pizza and baldness for the sake of wealth? Not very high stakes.

On the other hand, if you're looking for a fun romantic comedy, this does combine that element with the spy/intrigue/thriller. It was fun fluff - more like the Oceans franchise - and don't mind leaving the theater saying "what for?" or wanting something mindless with eye candy, this is a film for you. Not bad or a waste but don't expect a work of genius.

Somewhere halfway in the movie I was thinking - Do I really care what happens? It may be a clever movie, but it does not feel personal, you don't feel for anybody in the movie. Luckily for me, I continued watching the movie. And by the end of this movie I was completely taken. It is only after the end that I realised we were completely manipulated to feel a bit impersonal early on, and then build the characters - who seem cold and distant - from there on. So full marks to the direction and the script. And to the lead pair too - they do not give you a hint. There are other things I liked in the movie too - the way it keeps playing with you again and again and again. Like that one key dialogue in the movie - repeated many times in the movie, but always with a different context, where some time you know nothing, sometime you know a little bit more than some characters, and in the end when you actually know almost everything. If you have seen the movie, you'd know which one, so I won't spoil it. Alright, there are some giveaways, where you know what you see is not what is happening - but then you still do not know the whole thing.

All in all - its a very clever movie in that it sucks you in, and makes you keep thinking even after it ends. Great achievement by Tony Gilroy in the writing and direction. I am eagerly waiting for his next ..

Wow, I can't believe how many people are writing that this was too complex and they got lost in the plot. This is only to be expected when movies such as Wolverine pull in +85M on opening weekend. People complain that there are too many dumbed down movies that spoon feed us and treat us like we are stupid, yet those are the movies everyone goes to see. Then we get an intelligent, well directed and well acted movie, that DOES wrap up the loose ends (despite some posters stating differently), and yet people complain it is too complex!

I recommend this movie to anyone with the intellectual capacity to read a book. This is what Oceans 12 and 13 were trying so hard to be!

i'm of two minds about this Tony Gilroy(Michael Clayton)film.on the one hand,it's very well constructed,has great dialogue and great music.on the other hand,it's almost two clever for its own good.for one thing it jumps back and forth in time so many times,it was hard to keep track of what happened when.plus,you never really know who's doing what to who,or why.and the ending is a bit of a head scratcher.it made my head hurt trying to keep track of things.this is a movie that bears watching more than once.probably three or four times,and even then there's no guarantee you'll have it figured out.luckily there are a couple of other options.one,fugeddaboutit,it's not worth the effort.or two,enlist the help of three or four of your friends to watch it together,and maybe the can tell you what's going on.i'm not sure what option i'd pick.for me,Duplicity is a 6/10

DUPLICITY Director: Tony Gilroy Country: USA Year: 2009 Language: English Runtime: 120 Minutes Rating: 15A

A couple of weeks after the exceedingly average THE INTERNATIONAL (2009) rolled into theatres Clive Owen is back with DUPLICITY, the latest from Tony Gilroy, director of the good but vastly over-rated MICHAEL CLAYTON (2007) and writer of the wonderful trilogy of Bourne movies. DUPLICITY sells itself as an action-packed, romantic comedy where nothing is as it seems.

Which is all well and good but, generally speaking, in order for the action to be compelling the stakes have to be high enough to grab the audience by the nuts and not let go! James Bond wouldn't be James Bond if he wasn't locked in a titanic struggle with a dastardly mastermind bent on world domination. He certainly wouldn't spy on the makers of Frozen Pizza!

Clive Owen begins DUPLICITY in true James Bond fashion as MI6 secret-agent Ray Koval. He's a smooth operator who falls into bed with the most beautiful CIA spy on the planet, Julia Roberts as Claire Stenwick. The camera still loves Julia Roberts, even at 41, she's a consummate actress and, in all probability, the biggest movie star on the planet. And James Bond would be proud to bed her!

So far so good. But then the two secret agents fall for one another and decide to pack in the dangerous James Bond job for the far safer, yet far more lucrative, job of corporate espionage. They strike upon a master plan, play both sides, sell the secrets and retire to a life in the sun.

Julia Roberts is on the counter intelligence team of a giant multinational, guarding it against leaks. Clive Owen is playing for the other side trying to hack in and steal its secrets. And they're both playing one another. Or are they?

The stakes are still high – they're playing for $40 million – but with nothing more at risk than a new consumer product it's hard to hold the audiences' interest. I mean, seriously, does anyone care if one corporation beats another corporation to market with a wonder product? Would James Bond get out of bed for this?

Roberts and Owen have shared the screen before in CLOSER (2004) which was rather more adult themed but equally full of dueling dialogue. There's a chemistry between the pair which, while not coming close to Bogie and Bacall or, hell, even to Pitt and Jolie in MR & MRS SMITH (2005), is still fun to watch. And this is where the movie comes into its own. It's a flimsy, watch-able flick that's fun for the most part. You could do a lot worse.