DUPLICITY (2009) *** I have to admit that they got me with the ad that Julia Roberts and Clive Owen are "sexy corporate spies." Um...has there ever been a less promising premise for a film? I had to watch, in no small part hoping that it would be so stupid that I would laugh uncontrollably at it. But I forgot that Julia Roberts' movies that are so bad you can only laugh at them-and there were never many-are decades in the past. She's great, other than Stepmom it may be her finest performance. And there's nothing wrong with him. And they do catch the high drama-almost elegant in spite of itself (frozen pizza, anyone?)-that wads of cash endow on things in the technology and advanced capitalism of the early 21st century. Paul Giamatti is a spectacular corporate totem (in that definitively bland manner): ugly, brilliant, self-absorbed to the point of demonic possession, courageous, paranoid, and perched right on the edge of the wave of the epoch with a contradictorarily self deprecating one-liner prepared. They don't hammer the point that corporations have assumed the traditional role of nation-states, but if you've already figured that out they develop the theme for you. Romantic adventures in the dark corporate netherworld? You've got to be kidding, right? That worked? Yup. Did I mention how great Julia Roberts is, and how well Clive served as her male counterpart. Truth is that this film flirted with being a great one, and if it somehow failed...and if all that corporate mirror but magnified universe doesn't quite deliver...it's not from lack of ambition. It's one of those movies that delights in never quite letting you know what's going on-through the popular multiple flash back and forward and back device so contemporarily popular-and it's more than enough to keep you desperate to figure it out. I'm not crazy about that device, but Tony Gilroy not only knows how to frame a beautiful shot but he knows exactly how and where the person(s) belong in it. Some great scenes that are stills at heart. Turns out to be a chaotic meditation on the universal application of loyalty, this one does.
back to Brilliant Observations on 2120 Films page, or Index
go back home, or send me email
Reviews won't do it any more! I need sustained brilliance! I want to buy your exciting new terrorist novel!
I've already read both of your novels. Thank you, they're amazing. Now I want to check out your weekly blog on everything