By Annette Seifert
Tony Gilroy’s “Michael Clayton” was the surprise Oscar nominee in 2008 and managed to nab Tilda Swinton the award for Best Actress as well as nominations for Gilroy for his directorial debut and screenplay. So the expectations were high for his follow-up film, “Duplicity”. And in a lot of ways, it’s another look at the world we were introduced to in “Clayton”. Big corporations, shady dealings, and characters who are good at what they do.
Instead of lawyers, we get former secret service agents who’ve gone private and get embroiled in a case of corporate espionage. Ray Koval/Clive Owen, a former MI6 agent, and Claire Stenwick/Julia Roberts, formerly employed by the CIA, find themselves on the same side despite working for two different firms. Only the lines are blurry and the twists a-plenty and pretty soon, neither the viewer nor the characters know who exactly is trying to scam whom.
Anything more about the story would give away too much as motives and allegiances are questioned from one scene to the next and we can never be sure where exactly things are heading, neatly putting the audience into the shoes of the two main characters.
The screenplay is tight and revels in fast-paced dialogue reminiscent of Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn in “Bringing Up Baby” or Ben Hecht scripts. It’s also aware of just how witty the dialogue is and uses that by revisiting a key exchange multiple times in multiple settings where it morphs from actual dialogue to scripted dialogue within the film itself.
 |
| Hello again. |
More than in other films, it’s up to the cast to make the script work, and Roberts and Owen prove yet again to be a great on-screen pairing after Nichol’s “Closer” in 2004. Owen, who’s choosing decidedly Bond-like roles after almost replacing Pierce Brosnan, is perfect as the hard to read Koval, his face betraying nothing. Roberts more than matches him in their scenes together and delivers yet another fine performance, finally ditching her Pretty Woman persona she’s been trying to get rid of ever since “Erin Brockovich”.
Tom Wilkinson and Paul Giamatti are brilliant in their portrayal of sleazy yet skilled corporate heads you love to hate but have to admire at the same time, rounding out a fine cast.
The twists and turns come fast and are almost as good as “The Sting”, the de facto caper film, even though the outcome is quite different. And as can be seen by the mention of various films here, “Duplicity” does draw heavily on previous screen gems, combining them into an exciting thriller that doesn’t need any explosions or shoot-outs to keep you on the edge of the seat and guessing throughout the film.
Gilroy manages to do for the big screen what Aaron Sorkin has been doing for TV – delivering a good story, great dialogue, and a behind the scenes look at the corporate world around us.
Sadly, the film was less than successful at the BO so far despite its timely theme of big corporations, but that hopefully doesn’t mean we can’t get intelligent and thrilling films like this in the future.
© Article from EuropeFront.com - European News Network
http://www.europefront.com/news/707/duplicity_choose_your_side.html
Published: 21/11/2009