Duplicity (2009)

Absolutely brilliant

The storyline feels a little thin and moth-eaten in parts but this sequel is plenty of fun.

Watching it is like watching the spectacle of a class clown at their best: you laugh at their jokes, instigate their defiance, and "ooooh" when they get in trouble.

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

Ray(Owen, charming and smooth) and Claire(Roberts, icy yet hot) are corporate spies with a past, working for two opposing companies which have a long history of hating each other. When Tully(Wilkinson, who does fantastic as usual), the leader of one of these firms, appears to have something big, Garsik(Giamatti, delivering both the talent and the humor that he has shown before), who runs the other one, wants it... bad. Will our two protagonists trick everyone, and make it big? Can they even trust each other, given their profession?Right from the opening, this is excellent. The dialog is slick and witty. Every twist and turn in the plot keeps you guessing. Some would say it's far too many... and without a doubt, someone is constantly, well, being duplicitous, in this. Towards other characters, and the audience. Those hoping for globetrotting won't be disappointed - Rome and the Bahamas are among the locations this takes us to. Production values are thus high - this looks and sounds amazing. And that without getting indulgent. The pacing is great(I would expand on why, but it would reveal too much), the 2 hours(or 115 minutes, if you don't count the end credits) fly right by. This is immensely suspenseful.There is some moderate language and mild sexuality in this. The DVD comes with a thoroughly interesting commentary by Tony Gilroy and editor/co-producer John Gilroy, and trailers for The Soloist, The boat that rocked and State of Play. I recommend this to any fan of (romantic and selfaware) comedy-thrillers. 8/10

I never thought i will write my first review for such a disappointing movie. Slated as a con movie this movie cons its viewers in the end. For those who want to watch a Con Movie, this is my sincere request ...please DO NOT WASTE YOUR TIME on this piece of nonsense. You can imagine that after rating almost 300 movies for this site i am writing my first review just to avoid people from further wasting their time in high hopes and getting nothing. And Flashbacks which were employed to add spice to the movie were in fact a great torture too...Moreover, the trepid and intransigent plot of the movie inundated with flashbacks invoked me to inveigh and to launch an invective but whatever i am writing here is just an iota of the degree how i felt about this movie

Somewhere halfway in the movie I was thinking - Do I really care what happens? It may be a clever movie, but it does not feel personal, you don't feel for anybody in the movie. Luckily for me, I continued watching the movie. And by the end of this movie I was completely taken. It is only after the end that I realised we were completely manipulated to feel a bit impersonal early on, and then build the characters - who seem cold and distant - from there on. So full marks to the direction and the script. And to the lead pair too - they do not give you a hint. There are other things I liked in the movie too - the way it keeps playing with you again and again and again. Like that one key dialogue in the movie - repeated many times in the movie, but always with a different context, where some time you know nothing, sometime you know a little bit more than some characters, and in the end when you actually know almost everything. If you have seen the movie, you'd know which one, so I won't spoil it. Alright, there are some giveaways, where you know what you see is not what is happening - but then you still do not know the whole thing. All in all - its a very clever movie in that it sucks you in, and makes you keep thinking even after it ends. Great achievement by Tony Gilroy in the writing and direction. I am eagerly waiting for his next ..

I just recently viewed the movie Duplicity with Clive Owen and Julia Roberts. Having saw there performance in "Closer" and noting what great chemistry these two have, I knew I would eventually watch this film.I am a sucker for a good thriller. And, if u like thrillers, this movie has it all. There are so many twists, and deals, and double crossings, you almost have to take a dramamine to get through it. It does get a little wonkish and complex during the middle. However, if u hang in there until the end, you will not be disappointed. If you are looking for a simplistic action flick with a lot of explosions and very little plot, this movie is not for you. However, if u are looking for a sleek, sophisticated thrill ride of a movie, this one is for you. This is an excellent movie.