Review of Duplicity (2009) by Travis S — 11 Dec 2011

(Side Note: it says above that Billy Bob Thornton is in this film when actually he isn't) This film caught my attention immediately when it cast Clive Owen and Julia Roberts, marking Duplicity as their first on screen reunion since the masterpiece love/lust film "Closer".

Duplicity comes from the genius mind of Tony Gilroy (writer and director of "Michael Clayton", and screenwriter of the Jason Bourne trilogy). I originally thought the film was going to be sort of a "Mr.

and Mrs. Smith" spy film without all the action, which on some levels it was, but on many levels it wasn't. The film plays out more as a spy version of "Ocean's Eleven" which some of the time works, but where the film works best is in it's chemistry between Owen and Roberts.

Personally, I think Clive Owen is one of the sexiest men in Hollywood. He is full of charm, wit, and for many many women, he is a dreamboat. He could charm the pants off of any woman, and in many ways he is the Cary Grant of this day and age.

Duplicity is enjoyable, but the film does struggle at times with it's own pace, structure, and flashbacks. One of the major problems with the film was there were some scenes which were very interesting and were able to capture your attention, but there one too many scenes which felt like the dragging points of the story.

This film could've been a lot better, but I couldn't help but feel overwhelmingly satisfied with the scenes between Owen and Roberts. Almost all the credit for Duplicity belongs to Clive Owen and Julia Roberts who milk every scene they had together for what it was worth.

Good twist for the film's outcome, but it seemed to take a long time to get there. Duplicity is a mildly enjoyable film, seeing it once was fun, but seeing it once was also good enough.