Duplicity

Greetings again from the darkness. The very imaginative and quite funny opening credit sequence sets the stage for a fun frolic through the world of corporate espionage. The only two problems ... it's not that much fun and there is very little frolicking.

Writer/Director Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton) just tries to be too clever and cute for his own good. After landing two perfect leads and two of the best character actors of this generation, Gilroy offers up a tedious, bungled mess that is really never that clever and certainly gives the feeling of holding back these four fine actors.

The multi-frame look, non-linear time line, repeated dialogue and smirky exchanges between Clive and Julia are just some of the clichéd tricks used to make this seem more interesting and complicated than it really is.

Clive Owen shows again that he would have made a sterling James Bond (nothing against Daniel Craig, who is excellent). Instead of his usual dark, brooding roles, he seems to thrive when he can show a bit of emotion. Luckily for the audience, we are only subjected to one of Julia Roberts' patented cackles that causes every man to cringe. For her, she is quite reserved, but just can't pull off the smartest person in the room role. Sadly, the great Tom Wilkinson is pretty much wasted in his role as one of the dueling corporate giants. Paul Giamatti, on the other hand, has the best scene in the film as he delivers over-the-top arrogance in his stockholders speech.

Must also mention Tom McCarthy, not so much for his role (he is the guy handcuffed in the meeting room), but just because I have become such a fan of his directorial skills ... The Station Agent and The Visitor.

If you are after a dime store version of Michael Clayton or a mostly non-funny Cary Grant type film, then this is the film for you. To me, it just doesn't deliver the quips, twist or turns that it pretends to.

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.

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.

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.

"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.