Duplicity (Julia Roberts, Clive Owen, Tom Wilkinson, Paul Giamatti) – It’s official. I am not going to see another Clive Owen movie. After enduring Children of Men and The International, I began to wonder if he just makes bad movie choices or if he really is not that good … just that British. After seeing Duplicity, I decided that it doesn’t matter. If he is in it, it’s awful. Even Julia Roberts couldn’t save this Ocean’s wannabe. Oh, it has all of the right elements – elegant stars, beautiful locations, great photography, a cool sound track and snappy dialogue. But it is boring, unsatisfying, and a general waste of time. Really, I think it is meant to be a spoof of real spy movies. Imagine that this is Mr. and Mrs. Smithwithout the gun play and serious international intrigue. That is Duplicity.
Here is the set-up. He is a former MI-6 agent and she is former CIA. They met and copulated when they were agents and she got the best of him (so to speak). Then, they fell in love and decided to go into business for themselves. They then set up the perfect con. He works for one company; she for a competitor. The CEOs of the companies, played comic book-like by fine actors Tom Wilkinson and Paul Giamatti in performances they will not put on their highlight reels, will do anything to beat the other. So this movie is about corporate espionage. There is a new product coming, and our spy couple goes to work trying to get the $35 million they think they need to retire comfortably. Like Ocean’s 12, the worst in the series, what you see is not what you get here. Julia was in that, too, but at least it was the sequel to a very good film. Tony Gilroy, director of Michael Clayton, directs Duplicity and it’s just not up to his standards but it may explain why Tom Wilkinson agreed to be in it. This is really a clunker as far as I am concerned. And I am going to swear off Clive Owen movies, at least until someone proves to me that he can pick good projects or really can act.