Duplicity is a Clive Owen/Julia Roberts vehicle...period. It was like they picked the two of them and then built a story around them trying to make it smart, witty and fast paced but it just never really achieves any of that. Given the talent of everyone involved I suppose I just expected more. Certainly the film has plenty of twists and turns and keeps you guessing but by the time you get all the answers you just won't care for some reason.
It seems like everything for Duplicity is in the right place for the perfect heist/spy thriller and yet it never manages to take off the way it should. I stand by the fact that I think the film tries too hard to be more than what it is. Duplicity should have been a fun, light Ocean's 11/12/13 type film but it seems like they wanted it to be more critically friendly and in essence made it far more complicated than it needed to be. On top of the heist aspect of the film is this whole story about corporate espionage and what lengths the corporations will go to in order to get their competitors information. I think the film makers might actually think they were trying to make some sort of real statement about corporations and competitive edge.
Clive Owen plays his usual role (part of the issue) as soft spoken, angry looking, former MI6 agent Ray Koval. Owen's usual character just doesn't really impress in Duplicity but his range as an actor is very limited. Julia Roberts returns to the big screen and does decently as former CIA agent Claire Stenwick. Owen and Roberts have okay chemistry but for this type of film okay chemistry simply doesn't cut it. This film thrives on their chemistry and their witty dialog and the back and forth bantering and while there is plenty of that it's not as good as it should be. Tom Wilkinson and Paul Giamatti are the heads of the respective companies. They both do well but nothing outstanding which ultimately is the whole point of this film. Everything is okay but not good or great. With four big stars in this film I guess I hoped for more.
Director Tony Gilroy is a terrific writer having penned the Bourne films, my favorites in fact. But so far his films as a director Michael Clayton and now Duplicity haven't really reflected his talent as a director. I think his directorial idea is to be as critically favored as possible and create intense, gritty, and intelligent movies but the question remains as to whether or not Duplicity should have been made that complicated... thts all iv to say your honour.
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