• Review Index
  • About Me
  • Suggestions

vinnieh

~ Movie reviews and anything else that comes to mind

vinnieh

Tag Archives: Tony Gilroy

Duplicity

10 Saturday Oct 2015

Posted by vinnieh in Movie Reviews

≈ 18 Comments

Tags

2000's, Caper, Clive Owen, Denis O'Hare, Duplicity, Julia Roberts, Paul Giamatti, Romance, Spy, Tom Wilkinson, Tony Gilroy

Film Title

Duplicity

Director

Tony Gilroy

Starring

  • Clive Owen as Ray Koval
  • Julia Roberts as Claire Stenwick
  • Tom Wilkinson as Howard Tully
  • Paul Giamatti as Dick Garsik
  • Denis O’Hare as Duke Monahan

A devilish romantic spy caper, Duplicity is bolstered by the star appeal of Clive Owen and Julia Roberts. And while enjoyable and witty, it become too convoluted and complex for its own good, that seriously leaved you feeling a bit duped by the end. Still it does have a lot to be enjoyed, it just thinks it’s cleverer than it is.

Ray Koval and Claire Stenwick are both former agents; him for MI6 and her for the CIA. Duplicity PosterThey now work as corporate spies for two rival companies, headed by the smart Howard Tully and the over exaggerated Dick Garsik who are constantly in competition and trying to get one up on the other. The thing is that Ray and Claire both have a past together romantically, as we see in flashback when their cases have crossed over the years. Yet both of them have a mutual distrust for one another because of the spy business and the playing of each other during these various encounters around the globe. Now, they both have a plan to con their respective companies for some major new product that could be super lucrative for each of them. This con that they plan to pull is extremely complex and tense as it could go very wrong if someone is caught. But with unease over trust and douDuplicity Roy and Claireble crosses along the way in this dangerous game, who is playing who and will Ray and Claire’s personal feelings of sparky romance get in the way of the job in hand?

Now it must be said that Tony Gilroy contributes stylish direction Duplicity. Through split screens and visuals, he crafts an atmosphere laced with deception and humour. There is a lightness to his direction that ties in with the caper aspects of the tale. His script is slickly written and contains many a great scene of romantic banter and innuendo along the way. Julia Roberts DuplicityThe wit is a clear highlight of the movie as it crackles between Ray and Claire whose relationship is mutually distrustful and doubting. Though I’m a big fan of twists, Duplicity ultimately goes overboard with them. Yes some of them come off as effective, but there really wasn’t any need for so many as it causes the film to feel cluttered. What should have really been a breezy film with a couple of double crosses becomes something of a muddled mess that could have been trimmed down. On a technical side, Duplicity at least looks great and has that old-fashioned feel of a caper from the 50’s or 60’s. A jazzy score, punctuated by exotic waves romance and cool suspense, manages to keep interest even when the story gets out of hand.

Despite the complicated nature of Duplicity, the cast assembled shines and brings a sense of credibility to it. Clive Owen DuplicityClive Owen does the smooth-talking, handsome guy shtick very well while bringing dashes of dry humour to the character of Ray. The chemistry he shares with Julia Roberts is electric and filled with sexual tension as the two dance a tango of uncertainty and passion. Julia Roberts also walks away with a great performance as Claire, who is smart, efficient and can be very calculating when it comes to the business.Tom Wilkinson and Paul Giamatti as feuding business heads have a clear hoot here and their distinguished presence is felt in the scenes in which they are present. Duplicity RivalsThe two guys are real gems of the supporting cast and their slow motion fight that covers the opening frames is comedic fare to say the very least. Denis O’Hare is on great form as another corporate spy involved with the dangerous game of cat and mouse at stake.

So it may be a slickly done spy film and boast some very engaging performances, I just wish that Duplicity hadn’t tried to be so overly clever because it really detracts from the good parts of the movie.

Subscribe

  • Entries (RSS)
  • Comments (RSS)

Archives

  • December 2022
  • November 2022
  • October 2022
  • September 2022
  • August 2022
  • July 2022
  • June 2022
  • May 2022
  • April 2022
  • March 2022
  • February 2022
  • January 2022
  • December 2021
  • November 2021
  • October 2021
  • September 2021
  • August 2021
  • July 2021
  • June 2021
  • May 2021
  • April 2021
  • March 2021
  • February 2021
  • January 2021
  • December 2020
  • November 2020
  • October 2020
  • September 2020
  • August 2020
  • July 2020
  • June 2020
  • May 2020
  • April 2020
  • March 2020
  • February 2020
  • January 2020
  • December 2019
  • November 2019
  • October 2019
  • September 2019
  • August 2019
  • July 2019
  • June 2019
  • May 2019
  • April 2019
  • March 2019
  • February 2019
  • January 2019
  • December 2018
  • November 2018
  • October 2018
  • September 2018
  • August 2018
  • July 2018
  • June 2018
  • May 2018
  • April 2018
  • March 2018
  • February 2018
  • January 2018
  • December 2017
  • November 2017
  • October 2017
  • September 2017
  • August 2017
  • July 2017
  • June 2017
  • May 2017
  • April 2017
  • March 2017
  • February 2017
  • January 2017
  • December 2016
  • November 2016
  • October 2016
  • September 2016
  • August 2016
  • July 2016
  • June 2016
  • May 2016
  • April 2016
  • March 2016
  • February 2016
  • January 2016
  • December 2015
  • November 2015
  • October 2015
  • September 2015
  • August 2015
  • July 2015
  • June 2015
  • May 2015
  • April 2015
  • March 2015
  • February 2015
  • January 2015
  • December 2014
  • November 2014
  • October 2014
  • September 2014
  • August 2014
  • July 2014
  • June 2014
  • May 2014
  • April 2014
  • March 2014
  • February 2014
  • January 2014
  • December 2013
  • November 2013
  • October 2013
  • September 2013
  • August 2013
  • July 2013
  • June 2013
  • May 2013
  • April 2013
  • March 2013
  • February 2013
  • January 2013
  • December 2012
  • November 2012
  • October 2012
  • September 2012
  • August 2012
  • July 2012
  • June 2012
  • May 2012
  • April 2012

Categories

  • 007 thoughts and reviews
  • Adventures of Satrap
  • Announcements
  • Awards and Achievements
  • Birthdays and Tributes
  • Blogging Community
  • Blogging Questions
  • Creepy
  • Gif Posts
  • Humour
  • Movie and Television Trivia
  • Movie opinions and thoughts
  • Movie Reviews
  • Music reviews and opinions
  • Photography Discussion
  • Rest In Peace
  • Sport
  • Television Opinions
  • Television Reviews
  • Uncategorized

Meta

  • Register
  • Log in
January 2023
M T W T F S S
 1
2345678
9101112131415
16171819202122
23242526272829
3031  
« Dec    

Tags

007 1940's 1950's 1960's 1970's 1980's 1990's 2000's 2010's Action Adventure Announcement Based on a true story Bernard Lee Bette Davis Birthday Blogs You Should Follow Cate Blanchett Comedy Crime Desmond Llewelyn Disney Drama Fantasy Foreign Language Film Gillian Anderson Halle Berry Happy Birthday Horror James Bond Judi Dench Julianne Moore Julia Roberts Liebster Award Lois Maxwell Madonna Maggie Smith Matthew Fox Meryl Streep Music Musical Mystery Natalie Portman Neve Campbell Period Drama Psychological Horror Psychological Thriller Rest In Peace Romance Romantic Comedy Science Fiction Spy Supernatural Horror Thriller

Top Posts & Pages

Lyric Analysis - Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds and Kylie Minogue: Where the Wild Roses Grow
Party of Five Season 5
Dangerous Beauty
Hope Floats
Charmed Season 8
The Stud
The Babysitter
My Personal Ranking of the James Bond Movies
Gilda
Copycat
Follow vinnieh on WordPress.com

Create a free website or blog at WordPress.com.

Privacy & Cookies: This site uses cookies. By continuing to use this website, you agree to their use.
To find out more, including how to control cookies, see here: Cookie Policy
  • Follow Following
    • vinnieh
    • Join 3,769 other followers
    • Already have a WordPress.com account? Log in now.
    • vinnieh
    • Customize
    • Follow Following
    • Sign up
    • Log in
    • Report this content
    • View site in Reader
    • Manage subscriptions
    • Collapse this bar
 

Loading Comments...