"Duplicity" Movie Review

Ryan here and this week I’ll be taking a look at the Julia Roberts/Clive Owen vehicle, Duplicity (PG-13). In the film Roberts and Owen star as a couple of ex-spies who are now employed at competing multi-conglomerate corporations. Upon the revealing of a new groundbreaking product, Roberts and Owen mastermind a plan to scam the payoff for themselves. Rounding out the cast is Tom Wilkinson and Paul Giamatti.

Duplicity is directed by Tony Gilroy and I was a big fan of his directorial debut, Michael Clayton. I thought it was one of the better films of the past several years. Duplicity is a a slight departure from “Clayton.” Duplicity is a thriller but it’s more of a light-hearted thriller somewhat in the vein of Stanley Donen’s classic film, Charade. Overall Duplicity is not on the same level of Michael Clayton (or Charade for that matter) but it’s not a bad film. It’s a slightly above average film--and for the most part that’s quite acceptable at this time of year. As most moviegoers are aware the spring time is not when the studios role out their best material.

Gilroy's is a fan of non-linear storytelling and it served him well with “Clayton.” But with Duplicity the results are mixed. Initially the flashbacks that are developed in the narrative do add to the second-guessing of the plot, which Gilory is trying to establish. After all the movie is called Duplicity so I understand the need to keep the audience guessing. Unfortunately the film comes to its conclusion through a flashback that detracts from the pull of the story. It would have been acceptable if the clues would have led to this particular climax but when looking back on the film there's not much there that one could have pieced together to figure out exactly what was going on. The final “gotcha” moment completes the story but not in a fulfilling way. But overall Gilory's pacing of the story does suceed in amping the tension to an otherwise dull concept.

Another strength that Gilory has is the ability to bring out solid performances by his main players. Much of what makes Duplicity a watchable film are the performances by Roberts and Owen. Both of their roles are roles that demand a certain amount of charm and screen presence and they both deliver sexy alluring performances. They have good chemistry together and that allows them to continually play off of each other to the degree that the audience is not sure whether to trust their relationship. That conflict is necessary in a movie like this.

Also adding to the film are the performances by Giamatti and Wilkinson. They don't have a lot of screen time and their characters are more stereotypes than fleshed out roles but they give solid performances. I guess that shouldn't be to surprising considering that they almost always deliver solid work but it is always a joy seeing them on screen especially when they can purposely “ham” it up.

In essence Duplicity is a pretty good film. It is geared for adults and as an adult feature it succeeds more than fails.

Final grade: B-.