Duplicity Movie
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Storyline
TAGLINES
Outwit. Outspy. Outsmart. Outplay. Then get out.
Ray works for MI6, Claire for the CIA. She burns him in Dubai. Jump ahead five years: he sees her in Grand Central and confronts her. Both now work in industrial security for corporate giants whose CEOs hate each other. Flashbacks fill us in: is it coincidence that he sees her in Grand Central? In about a week, one of the firms is going to announce a revolutionary product. Under the guise of helping that corporation's rival, can Ray and Claire work their own theft and find an independent buyer? To work together, using the corporate rivalry to their advantage, they would have to trust one another - difficult, if not impossible. Or, is one playing the other?
| Clive Owen | Ray Koval |
| Julia Roberts | Claire Stenwick |
| Tom Wilkinson | Howard Tully |
| Paul Giamatti | Richard Garsik |
| Dan Daily | Garsik's Aide |
| Lisa Roberts Gillan | Tully's Assistant |
| David Shumbris | Turtleneck |
| Rick Worthy | Dale Raimes |
| Oleg Shtefanko | Boris Fetyov |
| Denis O'Hare | Duke Monahan |
| Kathleen Chalfant | Pam Frailes |
| Khan Baykal | Dinesh Patel |
| Thomas McCarthy | Jeff Bauer |
| Wayne Duvall | Ned Guston |
| Fabrizio Brienza | Hotel Manager |
| Tony Gilroy |
6.40 out of 10 (19070 votes)
Visitor Reviews
Writers in Love with Their Cleverness
posted on 31 Aug 2009There is a certain egotism in writing to display how clever one can be which is all that this movie leaves you with. The story is a copy of the standard fare of let's see how complex and unrealistic a plot we can flash forward/backward enough to create puzzlement in an attempt to show "clever" but which ends up being needlessly confusing. So pointless was this story that it very slowly drags the audience into the Neverland of boredom. Oh, and the acting is as 2-D flat and unemotional as a Saturday morning cartoon.
Only Surprise is the Ending
posted on 31 Aug 2009One expects a lot more from actors such as these. This movie plot meanders around with flashbacks and forwards so much you don't know if you are coming or going. Very little chemistry here except for a proposed formula that is a secret until the end of the movie. Ending has a surprise but little fireworks by way of excitement, and then totally fizzles.
Chronologically Challenged
posted on 31 Aug 2009After truly enjoying watching this movie, I decided it would be a lot of fun to figure out what the hell it was all about. I mean, there were flashbacks upon flash-forwards, some announced and some left to the imagination. There were times when the same scene played twice! Maybe that was an economical way of saying you were in a flashback. Or maybe the film on the cutting room floor got so tangled that the editor called it a night and just spliced together whatever was still lying around.
Well, I thought, there's a cure for all of this. Surely the wise, intelligent DVD compilers would provide us with SCENES IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER, so I could watch the film again and figure it out. No such luck. No such wisdom. No such intelligence. The "scenes" were labeled by the editor after he had glued together the film strips, probably by running every hundred feet of film and slapping a title on it.
OK, I thought, you movie moguls, you. I'll listen to your Feature Commentary with Writer/Director Tony Gilroy and his five-year-old son Editor/Co-Producer John Gilroy. Maybe they'll blurt out what happens next after what happened before. No such luck. They took the coward's way out. They made it impossible for the consumer to access their feature commentary. Try to access it, and you just get to see the movie all over again.
It's a real shame because it really and truly seems like a very good movie.
Girly, Puzzley, Sharp Dialoguey - No Guns, No Action Sequences, No Plot
posted on 31 Aug 2009Clive and Julia do a lot of fast talking and kissy-kissy but they do not drive the story forward, they're like shiny pinballs, bouncing around inside a massive puzzle box, that's being wobbled and shaken by Mr. X.
This isn't a heist movie, this isn't a con movie, this isn't a "cool sexy caper." This movie is a trick.
Everything that happens is random misdirection by the writer-director. It's like a magic act. It's all patter. No conflict. Just the illusion of conflict. Just the illusion of sexy. There are a few shots of great cleavage, but no nipples. I take that back. We do see Clive's nipples. For some, that's enough.
I gave this blu-ray five-stars because my wife loved it, and because this was one of the few girly movies I watched this year that didn't fill me with boredom and hate. And that's five stars in my book. I belive my wife liked this because she likes Clive and she likes Julia and she likes Romance and she likes Puzzles.
(I like sharp dialogue, and would give the movie three-stars for myself, but then I'm not the target domographic, because I hate puzzles. And if it wasn't for the sharp dialogue, I would give it two-stars, because I'm just that harsh.)
The video quality of the blu-ray was pristine, but it never wowed me. It's clean, and slick, but it doesn't pop. The audio was crisp. There weren't any special features of consequence.
Because I recently bought my plasma and blu-ray player, all I ever feel like watching is blu-rays, and there are very few girly movies on blu-ray, and of those, this movie, for the benefit of my girly, for one viewing, was mostly entirely watchable.
very entertainting and would do well in subsewuent viewings
posted on 31 Aug 2009This intelligent thriller is fun to watch. The split screens add a noir feel to the movie. It is the undeniable chemistry between the two leads, Julia Roberts and Clive Owen, that ultimate makes this movie successful. The ending will leave you wishing there was more to the twisted plot of this caper slash lovestory with hints of a romantic comedy.
Not a valid use of a Blu
posted on 31 Aug 2009Aside from being a very long two hours, I was really hoping the Blu quality would give this an outstanding rating since Universal chose to ignore the product. Unfortunately, neither the clarity nor DTS gave this a chance to be a purchase worthy item above the standard version.
The film has a split following between those that found it boring or those that like the fluff and Ocean's 11 wannabe feel. The split screen montage used throughout can be an excellent chance to showcase minute detail but none of those sequences shined much. The DTS was fine, but the score dominated any outer channel usage. The only supplement was a crew commentary that underwhelmed me, but I do enjoy Gilroy's work. Haven't really felt this frustrated before in scrolling a new Blu menu to see nothing other than selecting a chapter or a commentary on a $40M espionage film. The BD Live 2.0 option does have some downloadable content available if you follow that.
If you loved the film and do not care about the extras, it might be a decent purchase for you, but it feels more like a renter. Hope you enjoy.
Smartest, Sassiest, and Most Sophisticated Film of '09
posted on 31 Aug 2009Clive Owen and Julia Roberts absolutely crackle and sizzle from their characters' first chemistry-charged meeting at a party in Dubai to the final scene of the movie. Their border-traversing love affair is the most compelling part of the movie, but the clever and twisty corporate espionage plot will keep you on your toes. Paul Giamatti is always an asset to any movie, and Duplicity is no exception, although you may find yourself loving to hate his rodent-like character. But again, watching Clive and Julia drift through airports, pop open bottles of champagne, and savor each other's company is the film's hook.
Julia has one of the foxiest and flirtiest wardrobes I've seen on the silver screen in a long time (especially the floral plunging neckline frock in the opening scene and her demure sundress in Rome). I could have melted towards the end of the movie when Clive's character tells Julia's, "I think about you all the time. I think about you even when you're with me." Sigh. Such a simple but profound sentiment to express to a lover.
I watched this movie twice in the theatres, and I'm not much of a movie-goer. I'm very picky about my cinema and hate to waste two hours watching absurd and inane mainstream tripe. This film was a deep cut above the rest, tasty escapism for the discerning 30+ film lover.
Admit it, you don't trust me either
posted on 31 Aug 2009Duplicity is not your typical blockbuster espionage film. It talks about commercial spying, features a whole lot of dialogues and sometimes confusing flashback between our two bonafide stars, Julia Roberts and Clive Owen. In weaker hands, Duplicity might just have flopped badly. However, the sizzling chemistry between Roberts and Owen (working together their equally sizzling chem on 2003's Closer), the two spies work with and sometimes against each other, battling suspicion and jealously with witty and seductive lines. Julia Roberts' star quality is undeniable while Clive Owen cuts every expression, be it exasperated or relieved, convincingly and sexily. (B)
Love Clive Owen But Not In This Film
posted on 31 Aug 2009I found this film very confusing. I realize it is an elaborate spy vs. spy in a corporate espionage matter. One spy is Julia Roberts and the other is Clive Owen. At first it seems like she is the one with the upper hand as she rolls him after one wild night. Then the scene shifts and he has gotten one over on her. They leap in and out of bed at various points because they are wildly attracted to one another.
It didn't work for me. If sparks were jumping between these two, if love and lust were in the air between them, I couldn't sense it. So there were two things we were supposed to care about: would Julia and Clive get together and, secondly, which of their clients would win in the spy war? More than an hour into this film, I realized I did not care about the resolution of either issue. I stopped watching it, I was that bored.
I am not a huge fan of Julia Roberts although I think she is talented. She just rarely does it for me as a romantic interest. Conversely, I LOVE Clive Owen and it is very rare for me to be bored with him. I also really liked CLOSER which also featured Owen and Roberts. They didn't need wild attraction to one another in that film though.
Much to my surprise, the NEW YORK TIMES absolutely loved this movie. Its review found this movie a stunning pairing of Roberts and Owen plus the spy scenario vastly entertaining. Its review says, "It's a caper movie, a love story -- with Clive Owen and Julia Roberts, no less -- an extra-dry corporate satire. However you describe it, 'Duplicity' is superior entertainment, the most elegantly pleasurable movie of its kind to come around in a very long time." I was shocked to read this. I read the whole review and it's as if we were seeing two different movies! So go over and read that review if you are still interested in this film.
Much slower than and very different from Bourne, yet watchable
posted on 31 Aug 2009I think the writer/director of the Bourne series had set a very high expectation for all, even more so with the presence of Julia Roberts and Clive Owen. Sorry that fans of action thrillers like Bourne"s" and Taken will be disppointed. For those who can enjoy a classy romance with a good spy/agent plot (and shrewd script, too), better if you are a fan of Roberts or/and Owen, you will enjoy the film very much (perfect if you watch this with a glass of wine). Otherwise, please give this a pass. p.s. Roberts' acting is brilliant in this movie.
Engaging fluff
posted on 31 Aug 2009A bit like a less energetic "Mr. and Mrs. Smith", but with a high-falootin' chronology and a proposed glossiness that does not really deliver, "Duplicity" still manages to be an entertaining enough mishmash of corporate espionage, intrigue, and office-to-bedroom politics. It's not going to win any awards but is, as a lot of movies are, a pleasant exercise in visual storytelling, with attractive leads and just enough plot to keep you interested.
The plot is less than it seems at first glance: Roberts and Owen play corporate spies, who, having shared a turbulent romantic past, find themselves working the same job in the present. Enter a forgettable supporting cast of "Hey! I know him from somewhere" C-listers, a satisfyingly megalomaniac turn from Paul Giamatti as an exclusives-obsessed CEO, and fairly trite direction by The Bourne Trilogy's Tony Gilroy, and you'd be forgiven for thinking this isn't a very good movie.
It's not bad, though, and you have the combined talents of Roberts and Owen (and Giamatti) to thank for that: there's plenty of Star Quality and some mild comic relief going on to keep your interest, and while this is no James Bond (the twists and turns are too predictable for that), "Duplicity" isn't a bad lot/
Don't expect a lot from this one, and certainly don't bother spending money on buying it - rental is plenty. It could have been better, but that could be said of all films. There's tons of missed opportunity in "Duplicity": Kathleen Chalfant and Tom Wilkinson are definitely able to deliver more than the screenplay allows them, ditto the plot - cutting up the timeline to mask a fairly bog standard storyline never works, and here it's more noticable than in most films.
With this in mind, after the final reel has rolled, you could be forgiven for thinking "... ...huh.", but, while you're in the middle of it, the likeable hijinks and competent performances by the three central characters will certainly keep you entertained.
Rent it, it's a Tuesday night movie.
Perfect
posted on 31 Aug 2009Julia Roberts has her first leading role in five years and commands the screen like the movie star she is. This is a dialogue driven romantic/comedic/dramatic thriller. And it really does have some of the best dialogue on film in quite a while. And the chemistry with Clive Owen is undeniable (who is always at his best when opposite Roberts). Paul Giamatti and Carrie Preston are a lot of fun in supporting roles. It is pretty perfect.
The Chemistry of the Leads Alone is Worth Seeing This For
posted on 31 Aug 2009Rarely have two leads ever been brought together that have this much on-screen chemistry. I say this even realizing that Julia Roberts and Clive Owen were in "Closer" together and I think this film eclipses that. The story has one two many twists but the characters are so rich and the way in which some of the plot points play it out is just genius. Also, the dialogue is some of the best I've heard in any movie in the past few years which is important for a movie that is dialogue driven. This movie is definitely better than the two star ratings it has gotten on here so far. It's incredibly fun to watch and definitely worth a viewing.
So much potential...
posted on 31 Aug 2009...and absolutely nothing to do with this movie. This was supposed to be a SLICK (am I saying this LOUD ENOUGH to the directo?) mouse-chasing-its-tail kind of movie. Instead, Julia Roberts falls in love. Instead, Clive is filled with doubt. Results: both are obviously suckered by the very people that hired them. From the very beginning, you can see that money is NOT the root of all evil; it's not even sex (though that's where the blame is being leveled). It's the idle mind; too bad neither character learned to think like the devil. If you don't trust anyone, you better trust yourself.
Not clever enough by half
posted on 31 Aug 2009Clive Owen is the greatest thing to come along in the Leading Man Department since George Clooney, and, come to think of it, Duplicity is a movie that would very much like to recapture the spark of that classic Clooney vehicle Out of Sight. Julia Roberts, on the other hand, is no Jennifer Lopez. Roberts has aged into a technically competent but utterly uncharismatic actress, and she plays an essentially unattractive character here unattractively. It's a role that really needed some of that old Roberts sparkle, but most of the time, she just seems old. The ultimate selling-point for this movie, then, is Tony Gilroy's script. Gilroy wants us awfully to see how clever he is, but this tale of double-crossing double agents really just plays like an overlong episode of the old TV series Alias, but funnier. By the time Duplicity lurches to its rather logically fuzzy conclusion, the final twist isn't nearly as surprising as Gilroy thinks it is. As a director, meanwhile, Gilroy wants awfully to be Steven Soderbergh, even resorting to split-screen devices and non-chronological narrative elements. But he just doesn't have Soderbergh's frisson. Among the supporting players, Tom Wilkinson is utterly wasted, while Paul Giamatti (although a little bit hammy and more than a little too young for the role he's playing) continues to demonstrate why he's his generation's finest character actor. Movies come alive when his funny mug comes on screen.
Doesn't Deliver
posted on 31 Aug 2009When people in a movie theatre start checking their cell phones for messages, getting up and down to visit the restroom and rustle constantly through miscellaneous candy bags for another hit of sweet or salt, the film being presented just isn't all that good. Either that or the audience's expectation is not being met which quite possibly could be the culprit in the case of director/writer Tony Gilroy's billed intelligent thriller, "Duplicity," starring Julia Roberts and Clive Owens.
As confirmed by the presence of about fifteen pre-teenagers escorted by two wise mothers who after watching their charges noisily pile into two of the theatre's upper rows seated themselves at the aisle level with the exit, the audience anticipates either a redux of the sexy fast-paced "Oceans" trilogy or a spy-stylized "Pretty Woman (15th Anniversary Special Edition)" Instead of a mane of beautiful hair and that famous toothy smile, they had to settle for a dour looking Roberts with an obviously surgically altered upper lip as a former CIA agent gone corporate spy. Roberts plays the machination maven Claire by pursing already pinched lips; we get the sense of a stepped-up Erin Brockovich brow-wrinkling intensity, where tube tops and tacky denim minis are traded in for sleek tailored blouses and pencil skirts. The object of her affections or deceptions is Clive Owens, one-time MI6, also a converted corporate spy who wants to venture out on his own, sting the big guys, and retire comfortably with Roberts and 40 million big ones in a place so secluded it may only have an anonymous email address. He does look good in suits cut in the James Bond template, but fails to own the panache required to give "Ray" that playful yet able-to-take-care-of-business je-ne-sais-quoi. Indeed, an audience seeking the urbane style of Cary Grant teamed with Ingrid Bergman in "Notorious" should skip this one and rent the Hitchcock classic.
"Duplicity" duplicates the pace and jumbled chronology of Tony Gilroy's "Michael Clayton (Widescreen Edition)." But where "Clayton" fascinates with its character study of George Clooney's `fixer,' Michael Clayton, this film stumbles with repetitive dialogue--Claire and Ray sashay through a standardized opening repartee meant to suggest a teasing combativeness between the two leads, too banal an attempt at comedy--when Ray decides a pizza corporation may be his financial nirvana we wonder why MI6 didn't kick him to the curb or just give him a desk job--and locale that should be exciting (Dubai, London, Rome, Miami and New York make appearances) but gray-faces the viewer with too many fluorescent bulbs lighting a rabbit's warren of dull office cubicles. Supposedly clever and sexy, "Duplicity" confuses rather than excites; it needs a boost of the same adrenaline found in Gilroy's The Bourne Trilogy (The Bourne Identity | The Bourne Supremacy | The Bourne Ultimatum) and less full screen shots of Roberts and Owens trying to look smartly skeptical, knowingly superior or wildly outraged.
Bottom line? "Duplicity" attempts to recreate the magic of Tony Gilroy's "Michael Clayton" with the added bonus of romance blossoming between the lead characters. Sadly, the much-touted chemistry between Julia Roberts and Clive Owens falls short, so much so that the only duplicity going here is the magic the film promises but fails to deliver. An overly maniacal Paul Giamatti and an anal Tom Wilkenson dueling with crazed glee as the two rival corporate CEOs may fascinate for a few seconds before the reflex to yawn kicks in. Recommended only if you need to kill 2 hours and 5 minutes of your precious time.
Diana Faillace Von Behren
"reneofc"
Too smart for its own good.
posted on 31 Aug 2009Here we have a movie that's too smart for its own good about people who are too smart for their own good. I thought it was engaging although not funny enough to be a comedy nor suspenseful enough to be serious. Reminded me a bit of Charade. Great performances but the clever screenplay left me with 4 questions: who is doing what, to whom, when and why? Other than that, it was great. Favorite moment: when that lady who is the travel planner says "Go ahead. Do whatever you want (to me). It was worth it!"
One word sums it up... BORING
posted on 31 Aug 2009I love Julia Roberts. I love Clive Owen. I hate this movie. I could only get through 50 minutes of the 125 minute film. It was just too painful because its so boring. The dialogue felt really forced between the characters. I didn't feel like I was watching real people. Everyone is so busy trying to be clever and "cool" with every line that the focus of the plot becomes terribly lost. This is the first time I watched a Julia Roberts film that I couldn't finish.
A Potentially Smart Movie is Bogged Down by Self Indulgent Director
posted on 31 Aug 2009Tony Gilroy's films (such as Michael Clayton, Dolores Claiborne, the Bourne series etc) are bright, fast paced, and full of good dialogue. And they keep the audience involved and entertained. Here, in DUPLICITY, he directs his own script, adds a cast of fine actors, finds locations that are fascinating, and paces this journey into the world of corporate espionage with an eye to the brain of the audience. And that seems to be where the trouble with this film begins. Yes, it is refreshing to see a film that is not dependent on fancy car explosions, alien invasions, and gross brutality, a film that challenges the viewer to piece the fragmented story line together and keep pace with the twists and turns of the story. But that is where Gilroy as director loses control. By flash forward and flash backward sequences that fail to do more than show off his characters' repartee he leaves the viewer dangling with self indulgent 'can you figure this one out' moments that take away from character development in a gimmicky manner.
Another problem is that there is very little chemistry between Julia Roberts and Clive Owens as the spy couple du jour: Roberts looks unflatteringly old and Owens seems on the periphery of attraction to her - again, more the fault of the direction than the screen presence of the actors. Tom Wilkinson is barely in the film after the opening titles sequence that adds little to the movie concept that follows other than giving the director an opportunity to display his cinematographer's gifts in a slow motion fight with Paul Giamatti. The film seems for naught in the end - the good points drowning in the production and cockiness of a writer that usually knows how to pull off caper films such as this. Disappointing to say the least. Grady Harp, August 09
A really bad movie
posted on 31 Aug 2009Watching this movie made me aware of several problems with it.
First, it moved really slowly.
Second, it was very confusing and the slow speed of movement made it difficult to keep my attention on the movie which made it even more confusing.
Third, there is absolutely no chemistry between Clive Owen and Julia Roberts. They should have gotten Richard Gere instead.
Fourth, I really, really don't like fluffy movies where the main characters end up with the short end of the stick.
Fifth, if the main characters were truly professional spies then they would have planned for exactly what happened.
The only two positive things I can say about this film are I rented it instead of buying it and Julia Roberts was great but Owen gave her almost nothing to play against.