 STAR RATINGS EXPLAINED |
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| FILM DETAILS | Certificate
12A | | Cast
Julia Roberts
Clive Owen
Paul Giamatti
Tom Wilkinson. | | | Directors | | | Screenwriters | | Running Time
125 minutes |
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Duplicity (12A) Plot
MI6 spook Ray (Owen) is seduced and outwitted by CIA honeytrapper Claire (Roberts). But they enjoy playing each other and join the private sector of corporate espionage to make off with a trade secret and a mighty pension pot... If they can resist stabbing each other in the back.Review
There's far more sarcasm than snogging in a romantic caper that reunites Closer co-stars Julia Roberts and Clive Owen for a combative round of sex, lies and betrayal. It’s also considerably more fun than their previous cinematic encounter. The con that consumes them is a good one. Having retired from their respective intelligence agencies to bankroll a lobe-trotting getaway in sexy luxury, Roberts’ Claire Stenwick and Owen’s Ray Koval get their feet under desks in the counter-intelligence departments — for such things exist, apparently — of two rival multinationals. Her boss is ruthless tycoon Howard Tully (Tom Wilkinson), while Ray’s employer is Tully’s brash nemesis, Dick Garsik (Paul Giamatti). These two captains of industry hate each other’s guts so much, they’ve escalated from public punch-up to financing a business war using paranoia, sleuthing, spyware and dirty tricks to foil each other in a big-money, top-secret product launch.
Writer-director Tony Gilroy ticks all the espionage escapade boxes: good-looking people, designer duds, international scenery (London, Rome, New York, the Bahamas, some place pretending to be Dubai), nifty gadgets (surveillance and code-cracking gizmos, ghosts in machines), the nimble eluding of the tail at major transport hubs, and similarly cool, sneaky stuff he deployed in the Bourne screenplays. There are no parcour or car chases, alas, but there are thongs and Champagne. It’s elegantly, expertly done.
Gilroy has gone full on for a classic caper in the Hitchcockian or Charade line of sophisticated comedy thrillers, and it is smart, slick and full of clever twists, with some witty badinage and good performances down the cast list. But to pull off an unqualified delight it is essential that the stars twinkle. Ever since Cary Grant died that has been the big problem in this genre. Clive Owen is no Cary Grant. Nobody else is either, but you definitely want more playfulness and suavity in your Armani-suited deceivers. Roberts, back after her protracted maternity leave, is also okay but not dazzling. And without giving the game away, the who-has-outsmarted-whom? finish kind of fizzles.
Verdict
The chemical combustion just isn’t there between Julia and Clive, and you can’t help wondering if Gilroy wrote this with George Clooney in mind. Still, a glamorous, diverting escapade that over-30s in particular can enjoy.
Reviewer: Angie Errigo
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Average user rating for Duplicity
| Waste of Time | | | I'm sorry that I couldn't write a reasonably full review of this dreadful pile of dirge even if I wanted to. I gave up after about 45 minutes of wondering what the (expletive deleted) was going on, when I decided that a) I couldn't work it out and b) I couldn't care less.
So I switched off the DVD and went back to reading a book. Any book, even the Ankara Telephone Directory, would have been preferablwe. Julia Roberts should consider permanent retirement if this limp effort reflects her ... Read More
| | | magiclips About me | | 09:44, 03 December 2009 | Report This Post | |
| | | | RE: POINTLESS | | | It was Shite - shite shite shite with no point at all and no connection with both leading actors. I think that was the point.
... Read More
| | | Seamus. Pat. About me | | 14:36, 14 October 2009 | Report This Post | |
| | | | | | Great and sexy. You may find it a little stupid and nonsense, but, between us, it kind of turned me on. Smart and thrilling; I loved this. ... Read More
| | | nc_jj About me | | 04:50, 28 August 2009 | Report This Post | |
| | | | Nonsense | | | Tries to be Ocean's 11, but Owen ain't Clooney and Roberts has lost some of her magic. Poor chemistry between the leads, with annoying music and a "plot" that is simply all over the place. * Spoiler * We see them rehearsing some dialog that occurs twice.....5 years apart. Never got my head around that. And more to the point, just what was the big conspiracy anyway? Was the whole stunt purely for one corporate rival to humiliate another?! *Spoiler End. Anyway, it was boring nonsense and... Read More
| | | Hillsman About me | | 13:36, 17 July 2009 | Report This Post | |
| | | | Awful | | | Made no sense and just seemed all over the place! ... Read More
| | | munky22 About me | | 14:54, 08 July 2009 | Report This Post | |
| | | | Awful | | | Made no sense and just seemed all over the place! ... Read More
| | | munky22 About me | | 14:54, 08 July 2009 | Report This Post | |
| | | | POINTLESS | | | AND THE POINT OF THE FILM IS????????????????????????? ... Read More
| | | omarx About me | | 23:56, 03 April 2009 | Report This Post | |
| | | | POINTLESS | | | AND THE POINT OF THE FILM IS????????????????????????? ... Read More
| | | omarx About me | | 23:56, 03 April 2009 | Report This Post | |
| | | | Pretty Owen, going down the Street !!!.... | | | Probably the most boring Film I've seen this Year. It was quite clever but SO uninteresting, in fact I was glad to see the final " twist " turning up at the end so I could leave !!!!........ ... Read More
| | | n13roy About me | | 22:56, 31 March 2009 | Report This Post | |
| | | | Boring!!!!!!!!! | | | I've been working away from home and went to see this to pass the time. This film is so wooden you are in real danger of suffering from splinters. Terrible plot with poor twists and turns. One of the few films i have ever seen that i wanted to get up and leave only half way through the film. Save your money!!!!!!! ... Read More
| | | HERMES_67 About me | | 18:44, 27 March 2009 | Report This Post | |
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