Duplicity

Paul Giamatti and Tom Wilkinson not only own rival companies but intensely hate each other. They have extensive security networks and spies to undermine each other which is where Clive Owen and Julia Roberts come in as they work for different sides in this competition. The two are great together. Owen has a speech he gives Roberts when he sees her initially about being offended that she doesn’t remember him. She really pulled a fast one on him which is part of her job as a security agent. Their relationship is even better than the two companies going after each other. That’s not to say Giamatti doesn’t have his time to shine as the obsessive CEO who goes on rants. It’s all a lot of fun.

I LOVE Julia Roberts, and honestly this was a really fun role for her! The dialogue was pretty good, and the characters were believable. The way the time flipped around got confusing sometimes, but it all worked out. I do love how they wrote the romance, I loved the whole double agent deal. The ending, however, was a low blow. They built it up to this big finale and then...no dice. Even if the scheme hadn't worked, I still think there should've been some big thing for the couple in the end. Aside from the shoddy work there, this is a pretty good film!

Two plots. Romantic banter between two actors I enjoy. Big biz fighting each other and sucking the viewer into watching a very disappointing end -- for the actors and for the viewer who invested their time. I felt as flattened by the loss and Julia and Clive. Best moments, watching Julia and Clive together, baiting each other, threatening treachery, romancing each other.. That was the great part! But the movie was about them trying to bust the chops of corporate giants and for all their brilliance, they lose in the end. Their relationship was the most charming part. The jumping back and forth through time made my head spin. Some fun, clever dialogue and bits between the two, some playful and sweet banter. And as I said, a VERY disappointing end where they got shafted and I got shafted for sticking with them while the boring corporation sucked me in to watching to the whole movie. (And what was Clive doing trying to have an accent from Tennessee?) Cheeky of the studio to do this to two great stars and to me for wasting my time by trading on their personalities. Kind of sadistic of the studio. I got suckered.

After truly enjoying watching this movie, I decided it would be a lot of fun to figure out what the hell it was all about. I mean, there were flashbacks upon flash-forwards, some announced and some left to the imagination. There were times when the same scene played twice! Maybe that was an economical way of saying you were in a flashback. Or maybe the film on the cutting room floor got so tangled that the editor called it a night and just spliced together whatever was still lying around.Well, I thought, there's a cure for all of this. Surely the wise, intelligent DVD compilers would provide us with SCENES IN CHRONOLOGICAL ORDER, so I could watch the film again and figure it out. No such luck. No such wisdom. No such intelligence. The "scenes" were labeled by the editor after he had glued together the film strips, probably by running every hundred feet of film and slapping a title on it.OK, I thought, you movie moguls, you. I'll listen to your Feature Commentary with Writer/Director Tony Gilroy and his five-year-old son Editor/Co-Producer John Gilroy. Maybe they'll blurt out what happens next after what happened before. No such luck. They took the coward's way out. They made it impossible for the consumer to access their feature commentary. Try to access it, and you just get to see the movie all over again.It's a real shame because it really and truly seems like a very good movie.

Clive Owen is one of my favorite actors in recent years and with good reason. I didn't like this as much as The International, but it's still a good film. It has action, intrigue, comedy, and a good script. Special mention goes to Paul Giamatti and Tom Wilkinson who put in two terrific performances. The ensemble cast is really the heart of this film. The film is pretty typical of Tony Gilroy and that's a plus in my book.If I had to find fault with it, I would say that it feels a little "slick," maybe a little too polished for this genre. Roberts and Owen have believable chemistry, but it strains credibility in a few places. Still, it's a movie. Enjoy it!

"Duplicity" is a movie about corporate espionage, layered with what the viewer believes are double-crosses between two amorously involved spies. The story is told in flashbacks and thus is quite difficult to follow. Julia Roberts and Clive Owens are spies representing different countries who meet, fall in love and engage in a long and elaborate plan to bilk a corporation out of billions of dollars. There is an arrogant attitude imbedded in all this plotting: the assumption that they are far smarter than any corporate security organization and they never doubt their own capabilities.There is a lack of chemistry between the two that makes their plans hollow. They do not seem credible or sympathetic and the flashback storyline further adds to making them remote.Paul Giamatti plays one of the corporate chieftains and he dominates the screen, he grabs our interest.This is an okay film, pleasant enough but not memorable.

Bottom line.. British intelligence is higher than Americans. . The entertainment and screenplays are so far apart in what excites and keeps a person motivated.. American is raunchy visual cues, nothing to give much of a thought too.. I even suspect billions of braincells have committed suicide regarding the last 3 decades here in the US while sitting in front of the tv or theatrical screen.. don't bother to watch it if paying attention fatigues you.. I love British movies and actors because... well.. they act for one thing.. and they use intellect to stimulate the viewer, not so much in the way of gore, loud explosives and foul language as the draw.. I guess this is why you hear the back round music and noise over the actors voices in america.. because no one really cares about story line, just who gets punched in Tha face..

Even though the stars do their best, and I wanted to like it, the plot is far to complicated, simply because, the viewer cannot really care about what is going on with such frenzy. That leaves only the modern romance. The dialogue that the stars have to spout, in a machine gun style, does nothing to indicate that they are really interested in each other. After all the sound and fury - which is really about nothing, one would have a much better opinion of it, if at leas, it would have had a better ending. In essence, the writer and director were so obviously pleased with themselves, that they couldn't care less about the audience. It had the potential to be a lot better than it was, sadly.

Attracted by intriguing title and good cast but what a convoluted waste of time. It would help if the rapidly changing scenes gave some clue as to what was taking place. Totally implausible situations, persevered for 25 minutes and decided that although described as sophisticated and witty, it was not worth persevering.

You will need to keep your wits about you, but will be rewarded.The 1 star reviews are wide of the mark when they say the plot is too complex - not as normally one dimensional as many hollywood action thrillers are these days but lets engage our brains people, and concentrate for longer than 15 seconds. I'm not overly bright but enjoyed the plot, the twists, the flashbacks, the acting. All of it. Not the greatest movie, but well worth a watch if you like the leads and want a mentally engaging, whodunnit (who's gonna do it maybe!)

Although Clive Owen and Julia Roberts shine in this film the plot is too convoluted and it needs watching twice to begin to get to grips with the plot! A good idea but not as well executed as it could be! Having said that it is well worth a look, with some hilarious moments and twists right up to the very end!

Duplicity [DVD] This has already been sold to Magpie! It is a good film with a plot and several twists but not exactly rocket science, and who uses DVD in this day and age.