Duplicity

When I was a teenager, I remember that in Mad Magazine they had these little cartoons called Spy vs. Spy. You’d find these drawings all throughout the magazine and they would carry on week after week without end. Like a Road Runner cartoon, either you enjoyed the gag, or you didn’t. It was as simple as that. It was all about the gag. I kind of felt that way about Duplicity.

Unlike most spy or con artist films there was no clear villain or mark. When you are dealing with the corporate world is there really such thing as a good guy? It’s like the war between Coke and Pepsi. We all have out preferences, but when it comes down to the nitty-gritty, we buy what’s available, or whatever’s the cheapest. Do we really care about who is number one?

I felt such a detachment in this film that it was hard to find anyone to root for. It was just a bunch of greedy people, gaming each other, in a no one wins situation. I love the actors, and their performances were good, so the problem isn’t there. But I didn’t care about any of them. Even the spies Julia Roberts and Clive Owen were unsure of each other. Unlike their previous positions when they were spying for God and Country, this time they were in it for the money.

Duplicity is an intricate film full of twist and turns. If you enjoy that kind of thing, you may enjoy this film. But for me there was no joy of victory, no gotcha moment, no devious pleasure in a practical joke well played. This film just left me sad, sad that this view of the backstabbing, duplicitous, corporate world is a little too close to home.

Rating: Bargain Matinee Even the handsome Clive Owen couldn’t make me smile