'Duplicity' a double-cross semi-treat
Duplicity
Running time: 125 minutes
MPAA rating: PG-13 (harsh profanity, adult situations)
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In addition to being too complicated for its own good, "Duplicity," which teams Oscar winner Julia Roberts and dashing British leading man Clive Owen, can't quite decide if it wants to be a cagey spy caper or a romantic-comedy.
It tries to be both, of course. By doing so writer-director Tony Gilroy, a directing Academy Award nominee for the 2007 law firm psychological thriller “Michael Clayton,” proves he’s vulnerable to over-kill even when no bullets are involved.
Gilroy also had a hand in writing the three “Bourne” action-thrillers. He borrows the cat-and-mouse spy intrigue for this one, but climbs out of the international spy arena for perhaps an even dirtier, back-stabbing story trench: corporate America.
It’s very good to see Roberts back in a starring role after family nurturing and spotty appearances in “Ocean’s Twelve” and some delicious scenes opposite Tom Hanks in “Charlie Wilson’s War.” Roberts is a bona fide movie star. Better yet, she’s a big-time movie star with real acting chops, thus her Oscar for “Erin Brockovich” (2000).
CIA spy Claire Stenwick (Roberts) meets, seduces and steals some Egyptian Air Defense codes from MI6 operative Ray Koval (Owen) following a Dubai Fourth of July consulate party in 2003.
From that point forward – and often backward as well – the spies with marquee appeal squabble and globe-trot to places like Rome and the Bahamas.What we get for our money is more spy stuff and romantic interludes from Roberts and Owen.
“Duplicity,” perhaps staying true to its title, doubles up on almost everything.The stars are convincing enough as a couple in a love-hate-untrusting relationship that perhaps only they can understand.Gilroy provides convoluted dramatic intrigue that worked much better in “Michael Clayton.”
And here’s something I never thought I’d say: Near-brilliant character actors Paul Giamatti (an Oscar nominee for “Cinderella Man”) and Tom Wilkinson (an Oscar nominee for “In the Bedroom”), who shared the small screen in the HBO miniseries “John Adams,” almost bored me to tears as ego-driven corporate pharmaceutical CEOs determined to one-up each other.
If you’re looking for screen steam heat, you’re a little out of luck. Roberts and Owen, not unlike the characters they’re portraying, don’t quite let their guards down enough to sell the relationship sizzle.
They are gifted, of course, and fun to watch. It’s just that this over-extended corporate spy caper over-stuffs the intrigue and packs a little light when it comes to relationship folly.
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