SYNOPSIS:
Leave
your inhibitions at the door as Hugh Jackman and Michelle
Williams lure Ewan McGregor into a tangled web of lust and
lies in this scorching erotic thriller. Lonely, timid accountant
Jonathan McQuarry lives only for his work- until a chance
meeting with suave, charismatic corporate lawyer Wyatt Bose
introduces him to "The List". Suddenly, the right
cell-phone number and the words, "Are you free tonight",
launch Jonathan on a decadent journey of sexual conquests
and self-discovery amidst New York's power elite. But an affair
with a ravishing and mysterious stranger will expose him to
another world he never imagined: one of betrayal, treachery
and murder.
MOVIE REVIEW:
The title "Deception" is really a misnomer-
that is nothing much here to really deceive the viewer. In
fact, there is nothing much here to really engage you as well.
Much of this has to do with the disappointingly by-the-numbers
script by Mark Bomback (Die Hard IV). His story of a lonely
reclusive accountant caught in the trappings of a mysterious
sex club unfolds so predictably, that even the least discerning
viewer will be able to guess the final plot twist miles away.
Ewan MacGregor plays the role of accountant Johnathan McQuarry
who meets a suave and charismatic lawyer Wyatt Bose (Hugh
Jackman) at the same time as he runs into a beautiful stranger
(Michelle Williams) at the train station. A seemingly unintentional
mix-up, where Wyatt and Johnathan end up taking the other’s
phone, opens the door for Johnathan into a private sex club.
Lest you think that there is anything scintillating to be
found here, let me assure you that there is none. There is
little sexual tension (at least from the point of the viewer)
to be found in Johnathan’s subsequent dalliances with
many random women.
One night, Johnathan comes across the same woman who intrigued
him at the station. He takes this as an opportunity to get
to know her better, although he is clear that this is against
the rules. It doesn’t take a genius to decipher that
nothing here is random; especially that Wyatt is hardly the
best friend that Johnathan regards him as.
The almost pedestrian story is then aptly complimented by
an equally pedestrian direction by first-time director Marcel
Langenegger. He does little to amp up any kind of tension
in the story, so that the already monotonous story unfolds
in just as dully.
Even the actors themselves are quite aware that they are in
a snooze-fest. Hugh Jackman, in his first outing as a producer,
plays Wyatt with a cunning smile and little else. There is
not enough menace in his performance to sufficiently portray
the duplicity of his character. Ewan MacGregor as the clueless
accountant fares slightly better, but this is hardly a challenge
for the actor who is capable of much more.
For a movie that sells itself as a sexual thriller, there
is hardly anything sexual or thrilling in it. Perhaps its
title most aptly refers to its viewers, who were deceived
into thinking there is any fun to be had here.
SPECIAL FEATURES :
None
AUDIO/VISUAL:
Visual
transfer is good but the audio options leave much to be desired.
There is only one audio track in this Code 3 DVD that is in
Dolby Digital 2.0, a lackluster option befitting the dreary
movie.
MOVIE RATING:
DVD
RATING :
Review
by Gabriel Chong
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