Clive Owen as Ray Koval and Julia Roberts
as Claire Stenwick, opposing corporate spies in and out of love and deception,
in Tony Gilroy's film "Duplicity", which opened wide today in the U.S. and
Canada. (Photo: Univeral Pictures)
MOVIE REVIEW
Duplicity
Trust, But Verify: A Charade Across Oceans
For Roberts And Owen
By
Omar P.L. Moore/PopcornReel.com
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Friday, March 20, 2009
After his Oscar-winning directorial debut feature film
"Michael Clayton",
Tony
Gilroy writes and directs "Duplicity", a high-gloss caper film
featuring two American corporations whose mutual disdain is exceeded only by the
enmity fans of the sports teams Manchester United and Liverpool or the New York
Yankees and Boston Red Sox have for each other. "Duplicity" features a
great operatic scene during the opening credits featuring "Michael Clayton" star
Tom Wilkinson and Paul Giamatti, but the film is about the evolving romance
between undercover spies in the opposing corporations who try to outfox and
one-up the corporations they work for -- as well as each other.
Julia Roberts and Clive Owen play the undercover lovers and have lots of fun
doing so, although it takes Ms. Roberts, in her first leading role since giving
birth, a little while to get off the ground. This may be due in part to
the script, which likely called for her character to cautiously warm to getting
to know a man she clearly doesn't trust because of the nature of her work.
Still, Ms. Roberts displays her usual charm and appeal, having a number of funny
moments. Mr. Owen, who five weeks ago starred in
"The International", is impeccable, occasionally delivering his lines
in the style of Cary Grant in "His Girl Friday" (1940) -- often rapid-fire and
without a breath -- but most always with cool deliberation. Ms. Roberts
and Mr. Owen, who played adulterous lovers in Mike Nichols' "Closer" (2004),
make a playful pair in "Duplicity". Several scenes reveal a chemistry that
gradually grows, adding to their appeal as a screen couple, and their banter is
a highlight of "Duplicity", which opened today in theaters across the U.S. and
Canada.
"Duplicity" is armed with tricks and makes the mistake of hurtling back and
forth through time, ala the brilliant FX cable television series "Damages",
although Mr. Gilroy's beautiful-looking film (cinematography by
"There Will Be Blood" Oscar-winner
Robert Elswit) with its occasional visual tonal changes, tries to establish the
frequent temporal shifts as a main theme mining the jigsaw puzzle (or Rubick's
Cube) that is the relationship between Claire Stenwick (Ms. Roberts) and Ray
Koval (Mr. Owen), who find themselves meeting in "Groundhog Day"-type flashbacks
in New York, Rome, Zurich, San Diego, the Bahamas, London and Miami, among other
locales around the globe.
The film boasts a solid supporting cast including Ulrich Thomsen (the excellent
Thomas Vinterberg film "The Celebration" (Festen), "The International",
"Hitman" and
Susanne Bier's "Brothers".) Mr. Giamatti,
who played opposite Mr. Owen in
"Shoot 'Em Up" in 2007, is good here as
corporate CEO Richard Garsik, bringing nervy enthusiasm to a role that he
obviously modeled after Microsoft executive Steve Ballmer, though the actor's
character is far more restrained. Mr. Wilkinson is even more buttoned-down
as arch-rival CEO Howard Tully. Denis O'Hare is particularly good as Duke,
an undercover mastermind for Mr. Garsik. It's worth noting that on one or
two occasions in "Duplicity" scenes with supporting cast members are more
entertaining than the interplay between the film's two principal stars.
In Mr. Gilroy's budding feature film directing career corporate malfeasance is a
focus but "Duplicity", a romantic comedy, is about trust and verification.
It's analogous to you going on Google to get information about your prospective
lover or employee. There's an
"Ocean's Thirteen"-type feel and slickness to "Duplicity" -- sharp
clothes, eyewear, opulence and sumptuous settings. In fact,
Steven Soderbergh, who exec-produced "Michael Clayton", had kicked
around an idea to do a film like this and handed the baton to Mr. Gilroy, who
had conversations with Mr. Soderbergh about making a spy film with a love story
angle. There's also a "Charade"-like feel to parts of "Duplicity" and
while Ms. Roberts and Mr. Owen are hardly trying to match Audrey Hepburn and
Cary Grant they are living it up, as is composer James Newton Howard, whose
catchy music score is light, jaunty and engaging, accurately capturing mood and
feeling.
"Duplicity", a cheeky, sophisticated film, isn't always predictable -- even in
its repetitious episodes -- but always exhibits energy, wit and a deft sleight
of hand.
With: Kathleen Chalfant, Thomas McCarthy, Rick Worthy, Oleg Shtefanko and Wayne
Duvall.
"Duplicity" is rated PG-13 by the Motion Picture Association Of America for
language and some sexual content. The film's duration is two hours and
five minutes.
Copyright The Popcorn Reel. PopcornReel.com. 2009. All Rights
Reserved.
Related:
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Related: "Duplicity" clips -
Julia Roberts and Clive Owen |
Julia, Clive and Paul Giamatti
Related: "Duplicity"
trailer
Related: Feature story on
Tony Gilroy, director of "Michael Clayton"
(October 2007)
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