Duplicity, the latest film from academy award nominated writer/director Tony Gilroy is the kind of movie where audiences will be required to pay attention to every frame. The film involves the kind of plot in which you will find yourself asking, why are they placing these seemingly unrelated bits of information into the middle of the story? Could it be there will be a big dramatic pay-off at the end? Yes, there is. Although it’s not terribly big, or dramatic, it is fun.
Julia Roberts and Clive Owen co-star in this comedy thriller all about trust. It plays off of the idea that some people in some businesses get to the point in which they cannot trust even their closest acquaintances let alone themselves. The on-screen duo share an electric chemistry that works not because we believe they might actually be in love (I’m not sure even the characters themselves know that), but because we clearly see that there is a spark.
If you think this plot sounds re-hashed and familiar, guess again. Unlike Mr. and Mrs. Smith from a few years ago, this is not a movie about spies. It’s about former spies. See the difference? If you don’t I’ll explain it. There is not a single ounce of blood shed by any character in this entire film. In fact, I’m not sure I ever saw a weapon unless you count a roll of duct tape, or a few well-placed verbal jabs. The stakes however, are extremely high. Claire (Roberts) and Ray (Owen) have long since retired from their respective rolls as CIA and MI6 agents. They met years ago on a job in Dubai, that didn’t exactly end well for Ray. Now they work as intel operators for competing shampoo giants. Their skills are used to infiltrate opposing corporations’ headquarters to gain information about developing products so that their respective companies can exploit the competitor and wield power for themselves. The new corporate war being waged allows the two to rekindle their romance and try to double-cross their bosses, while watching out that one doesn’t also get double-crossed by the other.
The film mostly works because the story doesn’t solely rely on the talents of Roberts and Owen. A talented supporting cast helps drive the story along, including a strong performance from Paul Giamatti as one of the bumbling corporate bosses out for blood. It is entertaining but there is a lot going on in the plot that keeps the movie from becoming too absorbing. As the characters learn throughout the story though, don’t trust what you see or hear, and to the audience: Pay attention to every frame!
3/5
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