Synopsis:
A
pair of corporate spies who share a steamy past
hook up to pull off the ultimate con job on
their respective bosses.
The Freak's
Rating: D+ : Julia Roberts seemed
poised for a comeback after becoming a mother a
few times over, so calls were placed and the
development of Duplicity ensued. After a
mysterious car accident eliminated one director
from contention, another slid into position.
Studio heads made promises behind closed doors
and wined and dined talent agencies for who
would play the lead opposite Ms. Roberts.
Trickery came from every angle imaginable, with
some agencies offering up their clients for
virtually nothing and some demanding millions.
Clive Owen's team won the role and the plan to
release the film seemed failproof.
However, everyone overlooked the two supporting
roles that would solidify the acting elements
within, leaving a small but important hole in
the plan. Paul Giamatti and Tom Wilkinson
were inked, but at the last minute Warner
Brothers swooped in with a script switcharoo
during a meeting in L.A. at the precise moment
the contracts were being signed by the actors in
New York City. The papers had been signed
and the film was on its way... and
if you can follow that story without shaking
your head at the ridiculousness, then perhaps
Duplicity is the movie for you.
Slick
writing, directing and acting get you nowhere
without a good script. It is an
interesting idea to show corporate espionage,
one that has rarely been brought to film
correctly. Many corporations bring out a
new product only to have a rival bring out a
near identical ripoff (fast food franchises leap
to mind as the most obvious examples).
There
are a few notes to provide to the actors
involved. Julia Roberts, you are not sexy
anymore. Pretty Woman was nearly 20 years
ago and you've grown up. Now granted, for
your age you still look good, but the days of
you playing men for whatever you want are over
and the believability of seeing your on-screen
characters do the same is dwindling. Clive
Owen, everyone gets that you have an English
accent, but we're a little tired of hearing one
outside of a Bond film...period. Giamatti
and Wilkinson, you are both brilliant.
Keep taking the roles you take and doing a great
job with them.
In
the end, we are meant to believe that everyone
in the corporate world is brilliant enough to
not only scheme, but to scheme within a scheme.
Duplicity's story arc is nearly unrecognizable
due to timeline misdirections. The scheme
is hidden beneath a myriad of 24-themed black
boxes fading in and out of frame and various
timeline statements such as "2 days earlier", "4
weeks earlier", etc... It is downright
confusing and a poor adaptation of the spy
genre.
click here to review
it yourself!
