This film's title in German is "Gemeinsame Geheimsache" which means "Joint Secret Thing," which is interesting, I guess. "Duplicity" aims at the light Cary Grant fare of "To Catch a Thief" and "Charade," but it's more complicated, not to mention boring,and the two stars lack chemistry. One never heard those things about a Cary Grant movie.
"Duplicity" is about two spies who hook up to do some corporate espionage. The idea is to infiltrate a company, discover what it has in development, steal it and sell it to the highest bidder, and then take off together. Complications ensue. Lots of them.
This is the kind of film audiences are less used to today - it's complicated, and one has to really concentrate, which is probably the reason for its low score on IMDb. It is a good story and full of twists. The problem is the execution. The touch isn't light enough, the pace isn't breathtaking enough (with the exception of the copy machine scene) and the payoff isn't worth having sat through confusing scenes and wondering how they fit into the whole picture. And the denouement is a lulu.
With stars like Owen, Roberts, Wilkinson, and Giamatti, one expects more, and by more, I mean more screen time for presences like Wilkinson and Giamatti, two of the greatest screen actors around. Roberts and Owen failed to have any spark, though Owen certainly is in the classic film mode. Frankly I didn't think the two of them jived in Closer, and I certainly didn't think they jived here. Roberts also isn't particularly well photographed.
"Duplicity" is an interesting intellectual exercise once one realizes what's going on, but it doesn't have enough entertainment value for anyone to care.
"Duplicity" is about two spies who hook up to do some corporate espionage. The idea is to infiltrate a company, discover what it has in development, steal it and sell it to the highest bidder, and then take off together. Complications ensue. Lots of them.
This is the kind of film audiences are less used to today - it's complicated, and one has to really concentrate, which is probably the reason for its low score on IMDb. It is a good story and full of twists. The problem is the execution. The touch isn't light enough, the pace isn't breathtaking enough (with the exception of the copy machine scene) and the payoff isn't worth having sat through confusing scenes and wondering how they fit into the whole picture. And the denouement is a lulu.
With stars like Owen, Roberts, Wilkinson, and Giamatti, one expects more, and by more, I mean more screen time for presences like Wilkinson and Giamatti, two of the greatest screen actors around. Roberts and Owen failed to have any spark, though Owen certainly is in the classic film mode. Frankly I didn't think the two of them jived in Closer, and I certainly didn't think they jived here. Roberts also isn't particularly well photographed.
"Duplicity" is an interesting intellectual exercise once one realizes what's going on, but it doesn't have enough entertainment value for anyone to care.