Duplicity

Anyone who knows me knows that there are certain actors in Hollywood that I love to the point where it could be considered a man crush. Currently, that list includes, but is not limited to Christian Bale (Batman and John Connor!), Hugh Jackman, Ryan Reynolds, and last but certainly not least, Clive Owen. The trailer for this movie could have been Clive Owen standing in front of a white screen staring at the camera for two minutes and then just saying “March 20” and I would have been there opening weekend.

Despite how badly I wanted to like this movie, it was nothing more than ok. Of course, Owen was great. The guy has such a charisma on screen; he just exudes cool without having to do anything. As much as I like Owen, go to the opposite end of the spectrum, and that’s how I feel about Julia Roberts. She’s not as unbearably annoying as she usually is, and there are times when I thought she was pretty terrific. The main problem with her character was that she just wasn’t likeable. The movie hinges on the relationship between her and Owen, and they have great chemistry in certain scenes, but I for the life of me could not figure out why they were together. It was such a jump and I just didn’t buy into their relationship enough to believe that they would risk such a risky endeavor as they do. Again, as much as I’d love to hang this on Roberts’ door, it’s not the fault of the actors, but rather the weak writing.

Tony Gilroy makes some rather strange filmmaking decisions that, like most things in this film, didn’t do much for me either way. There is a good amount of split screen, mainly used in transitions between present day and flashbacks. There is also a slow-motion fight sequence that is unlike fight I’ve seen, but I’m not entirely sure that’s a good thing. The supporting cast performances are all good, but special mention goes to Paul Giamatti. He is most eccentric character in the film and really stands out every time he’s given the chance.

The plot of this film is unnecesarily convulated to the extent that all of the people in my theather left saying how confused they were. Let me just say that there was no one in the theater beside me under 70, but the point is still valid. There are points where the writers intentionally keep the audience in the dark just so they can throw “twists” at them. I don’t consider them real twists, because it’s not changing information that we already know, it’s instead just throwing new exposition at us that changes our entire perception. After the first few, you’re looking for them, and it becomes far less impactful when it happens every few minutes. As long as you don’t go to the bathroom or aren't Julie Feigelman, you’ll be fine.