Film of the Week - 20/3/09 - Duplicity (12A)

Mar 20 2009 Chester Chronicle

JULIA Roberts and Clive Owen reunite in the highly anticipated new film from writer/director Tony Gilroy (Michael Clayton), set in the high stakes arena of corporate espionage.

We don’t know who to trust – if anyone – as the intricate plot unfolds.

In a world where every identity could be an elaborate illusion and every declaration of love a barefaced lie, who do you trust?

Gilroy gleefully pulls the rug from under us at the same time as the characters, relishing each hairpin twist and turn.

The fog does lift in closing scenes but by then, some members of the audience may be a tad exhausted.

CIA officer Claire Stenwick (Roberts) and MI6 agent Ray Koval (Owen) leave behind government intelligence for a more profitable future employing their expertise in the cutthroat world of big business.

Working for rival multinationals, Claire and Ray find themselves chasing the same proof of a product that, once patented, could make either company market leaders and a small fortune.

Claire and Ray double, and triple-cross, using every trick in the book to ensure they get the relevant documents first.

However, the former spies soon realise that all of their training cannot immunise them to mutual attraction, which frequently leads to the bedroom.
It’s frothy and energetic entertainment in a similar vein to Ocean’s Eleven and its sequels.

STAR RATING: ***