Movie Description
DUPLICITY is a slick, Soderberghian comic caper in which it’s never exactly clear who is being conned. It’s easy to see that ex-CIA agent Claire Stenwick (Julia Roberts) and former MI6 member Ray Koval (Clive Owen) have a heated history together when they embark on an elaborate mission of corporate espionage. Two rival CEOs (played by the always fantastic Tom Wilkinson and Paul Giamatti) are battling for the top spot in their industry, and a top-secret new product would determine who would wear the crown. But this isn’t just about business innovation and profit: Claire and Ray have a plan that would help them get the prized formula and walk away with millions.
Tony Gilroy’s previous work as screenwriter and director--namely the Jason Bourne films and MICHAEL CLAYTON--didn’t give any indication that he could create something this bouncy and light. But while DUPLICITY is fun, it’s never dumb; it jumps back and forth in time with style, playing an elaborate game that its scheming lead characters would be proud of. As Ray and Claire, Owen and Roberts display the same fiery chemistry that they showed in the gut-punching romantic drama CLOSER, but this time, they play (mostly) nice. If DUPLICITY can draw comparison to the classic genre bender CHARADE, then it’s not a stretch to liken Owen to Cary Grant--he has an easy charm that ensnares not only each woman in the film but everyone in the audience as well.
Julia Roberts and Clive Owen steamed up the screen in CLOSER, and they're set to do it again with this thriller from Oscar nominee Tony Gilroy (MICHAEL CLAYTON). In DUPLICITY, Roberts and Owen play secret lovers who have given up their lives as spies to work for major corporations. Both want to get an innovative formula for their respective (and rival) companies that will earn the winner's employer millions. DUPLICITY also costars Oscar nominees Tom Wilkinson and Paul Giamatti as the leaders of the corporations.
| Credits | | Producer: | Jennifer Fox, Kerry Orent, Laura Bickford | | Cast: | Clive Owen, Dan Dailey, David Shumbris, Denis O'Hare, Lisa Roberts Gillan, Rick Worthy, Tom McCarthy |
Editorial Reviews
"The movie is fun, with plenty of intrigue and suspense that will have audiences clutching at their arm rests....Gilroy is truly one of Hollywood's best filmmakers when it comes to story. He can create strong characters and breathtaking situations that throw off extreme tension."
Hollywood Reporter - Kirk Honeycutt (03/16/2009)
"An ultra-sophisticated love story between two corporate spies with pronounced mutual trust issues, DUPLICITY is a brainy, non-violent MR. AND MRS. SMITH....Smart, droll and dazzling to look at and listen to..."
Variety - Todd McCarthy (03/16/2009)
"[A] brainy lark....It's risky, high-stakes madness involving the top floor-dwelling heads of rival companies....With smart writing delivered by an in-synch quartet..."
USA Today - Mike Clark (03/20/2009)
"[A] sleek, dizzying entertainment....A throwback to the days of old-school caper movies like TO CATCH A THIEF, DUPLICITY is just the kind of sophisticated amusement you would expect from filmmaker Tony Gilroy."
Los Angeles Times - Kenneth Turan (03/20/2009)
"Its densely coiled plot and splintered chronology reveal a cascade of familiar genres and styles....DUPLICITY is superior entertainment, the most elegantly pleasurable movie of its kind to come around in a very long time
New York Times - A. O. Scott (03/20/2009)
"Gilroy's articulate script is a stylish structure engineered to support sly double crosses, fake-outs, and gotchas....[With] Julia Roberts, in full Hollywood movie-star mode....It is an undeniable thrill to see her again -- amazingly, naturally, inimitably starry as ever..." -- Grade:B
Entertainment Weekly - Lisa Schwarzbaum (03/27/2009)
"[I]t's Roberts and Owen who hold focus....You're in for bright mischief with a dark streak that runs down to its core. Gilroy and his stars make it elegant fun to be fooled..."
Rolling Stone - Peter Travers (04/02/2009)
"DUPLICITY is a pleasant big-studio diversion, a screwball romance with beautiful movie stars set in gorgeous hotel rooms, deluxe office spaces and corporate jets. It's smart..."
Washington Post (03/20/2009)
3 stars out of 4 -- "DUPLICITY is entertaining....The fun is in watching Roberts and Owen fencing with dialogue, keeping straight faces, trying to read each other's minds."
Chicago Sun-Times - Roger Ebert (03/18/2009)
"This is only Gilroy's second film in the director's chair, which makes the smart dialog and superstar cast even more impressive."
Premiere - Premiere Staff (03/19/2009)
"An ultra-sophisticated love story between two corporate spies with pronounced mutual distrust issues, DUPLICITY is a brainy, non-violent MR. AND MRS. SMITH....Smart, droll and dazzling to look at and listen to..."
Variety - Todd McCarthy (03/19/2009)
"[E]legant, witty, suspenseful, glamorous, and briskly entertaining..."
A.V. Club - A.V. Club (08/26/2009)
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