Opening Day: 2 July 2009

Synopsis:

Oscar® winner Julia Roberts and Clive Owen reunite for "Duplicity," from writer/director Tony Gilroy (seven-time Oscar®-nominated "Michael Clayton").

In the film, they star as spies-turned-corporate operatives in the midst of a clandestine love affair. When they find themselves embroiled in a high-stakes espionage game, they discover the toughest part of the job is deciding how much to trust the one you love.

CIA officer Claire Stenwick (Roberts) and MI6 agent Ray Koval (Owen) have left the world of government intelligence to cash in on the highly profitable cold war raging between two rival multinational corporations. Their mission? Secure the formula for a product that will bring a fortune to the company that patents it first.

For their employers—industry titan Howard Tully (Tom Wilkinson) and buccaneer CEO Dick Garsik (Paul Giamatti)— nothing is out of bounds. But as the stakes rise, the mystery deepens and the tactics get dirtier, the trickiest secret for Claire and Ray is their growing attraction. And as they each try to stay one double-cross ahead, two career loners find their schemes endangered by the only thing they can't cheat their way out of: love.

Movie Review:

The last time Clive Owen and Academy Award winner, Julia Roberts shared screen time together, they were part of a fantastic quartet of actors in Mike Nichols’ Closer. Put these two versatile actors of today together and the result is a guaranteed top-notch performance. Here, in Duplicity, the both of them get to play off each other a lot as the carry the weight of the movie together.

At the helm of this movie is Tony Gilroy who assumes both writing and directing duties. Last seen doing the same for the Oscar bait, George Clooney starrer, Michael Clayton, Gilroy has slowly but surely become one of Tinseltown’s hottest properties having been a scribe for movies like the Bourne Trilogy and State of Play. He has crafted a script that has a lot of rat-a-tat banter between its two leads and the plot and its outcome, pretty decent and this is possibly inspired by the Bourne outings.

In this espionage tale sans guns, Claire Stenwick (Julia Roberts) and Ray Koval (Clive Owen) works for the CIA and MI6 respectively. Over the years, they somehow end up on assignments which eventually allow them to engage in a clandestine affair. Claire and Ray leave their respective jobs as spies and decide to work as high ranking security officials at the corporate levels at rival companies led by Dick Garsik (Paul Giamatti) and Howard Tully (Tom Wilkinson).

The two head honchos have constantly been trying their best to oust each other in hopes of becoming the leading hair product company. Soon, Tully announces that he has a product that will change the fate of anyone who patents it, knowing that it will bring them fortune. Stenwick and Koval eventually find jobs at the opposing companies and they too try their best to double-cross everyone else to obtain the formula for themselves. What ensues next is a madcap string of outwitting and outplaying while finding that they are falling in love with each other.

The pacing of the movie is about just right as they repartee and exchanges of wit are pretty sharp but the movie does at some points, lapse into boring parts but the latter end of the movie is highly entertaining with a smart culmination that has not been seen in a while. The supporting cast of actors are solid as rocks in matching up to the two leads ensuring that this espionage adventure is a thrilling ride.

Julia Roberts and Clive Owen are particularly convincing in their roles and the dialogue that has been written for them makes the partnership even more potent. It is a pity that this movie did not do very well at the American box-office. This is a decent outing for those looking for something smart at the cinemas.

Movie Rating:



(Duplicity proves that a whole of brain can work well even without the use of guns)

Review by Mohamad Shaifulbahri