DUPLICITY

Duplicity is a 2009 movie; written and directed by Tony Gilroy.

This is a weird film. It is a romantic/spy sort of thriller but it is not the thrillers we are used to from spy movies. Maybe it is just me but when I hear the word spy, I expect fighting scenes, explosions, complicated disguises, foreign languages spoken with perfect accents, adrenaline… Maybe it is the side effects of watching shows like 24 or Alias. I also like movies like The Saint. So imagine my surprise when all the spying takes place between two leading and competing corporations. Sure there are bugs, contacts, handlers and high-tech stuff, but all the disguise Clive Owen gives us is a southern accent with eye glasses.

Now, the movie is fun. I have always liked Julia Roberts and after having watched Beyond Borders, I decided to make a habit of watching Clive Owen movies (well, I hated Closer. So I watch anything with Clive but that). The movie’s basic problem is that it is too long. About 2 hours with lot of unnecessary dialogue. They also didn’t spend enough time trying to show how Ray (Owen) and Claire (Roberts) fell for each other. It would be cool to shoot for the lust angle but here we are talking about an actual long-distance relationship.

So a thriller with no chases and a relationship with no depth…Big cons, right? But I have to admit I did still enjoy it. Sure it dragged on and I’d have edited the script to 90 minutes tops if it were me. However, I have a degree in Business. It was our thing to go over case studies and study what corporations did or did not do right. And trust me- it is not that hard to imagine stuff like this happens all the time. You probably know at least a couple real life stories yourself. Pepsi vs Coca-Cola, anyone?

The plot? Oh yeah, that:

Claire and Ray go back 5 years. They meet, have sex and Claire disappears with some important stuff that belongs to Ray. Ray demands an explanation the next time he sees her. As it turns out, they are both spies and now they are forced to work together. Claire is the mole in a big company and Ray is her contact officer. They absolutely detest each other. Or do they?

The CEOs act like they would feel more at home at CIA headquarters than at their corporate offices. They each think they are smarter than the other. Each CEO is confident that his men will nail the next big thing. However Claire and Ray have a totally different plan of their own…

Harmless fun. But don’t even bother if you are in the mood for fast-paced action or if you don’t particularly like Roberts or Owen.

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