DUPLICITY

This just in: Clive and Julia didn't win the weekend. But having enjoyed seeing it at a moderately packed 10am showing at the local AMC, I'm kind of surprised they didn't fare better. The numbers don't lie, though. And the numbers, so says Hollywood Reporter, are thus:

KNOWING (starring Nic Cage): $24.8 million
I LOVE YOU, MAN (starring Paul Rudd): $18 million
DUPLICITY (starring Clive & Julia): $14.4 million

What do we know about KNOWING? It's got Nicolas Cage, and he rules the box office. Know what we love about I LOVE YOU, MAN? Paul Rudd's fabulous awkwardness revealed. And know what's duplicitous about DUPLICITY? The fact that these spies are incredibly smart and yet, ultimately, easily duped. Is that what turned people off? Or was it the lack of novelty? If I had to guess, I would say the MR. AND MRS. SMITH-ishness of this film, the "it's kind of already been done before" factor, might be what chiefly worked against it. Plus, it's been a while since the world has seen Julia, and Clive has never really been a sure BO-winner, despite his sultry eyes. What I know is that DUPLICITY, despite these things working against it, actually is enjoyable.

Focusing on two lovers who are married to their careers as corporate counterintelligence spies, DUPLICITY weaves a thick but comprehensible net that basically teaches the moral "keep sex and work separate." When Clive and Julia (Ray and Claire, respectively) decide to take down their bosses and garner a huge pay-off in the process, we get roped into their journey of lies and subterfuge. Who can you trust? The answer is no one, no one at all. Another good title for this film, actually, might have been DOUBT.

One thing for which I must commend Tony Gilroy, the writer/director, is how thickly he wove his web. I actually wasn't sure a lot of the time who was conning who, which player was ahead or behind, but if you hang in, you figure it all out. Gilroy doesn't leave you hanging, and that I really liked. Unlike many other heist movies I've seen--and I've seen a good number--you knew exactly what the stakes were, exactly what each side was after, and the measure of believability within this world (how they were accomplishing their hijinks under either corporation's noses) was actually rather high. What scored low was the climax scene--and I don't want to give anything away, but I will say this: for two people presented as amazingly cunning spies, they shouldn't have let what happened happen.

Now, having seen both DUPLICITY and I LOVE YOU, MAN, I refuse to believe that KNOWING actually was the best of the three films. I won't be seeing it to confirm--sorry, Nic--but my gut tells me I'm right. If you want a pretty solid caper movie with some nice bits of romance thrown in, DUPLICITY will do ya fine. If you want NATIONAL TREASURE meets NEXT, well...you obviously already saw KNOWING.

plot: New-school espionage with old-school romance.
thought: They take shaving cream seriously.
in five: 3/5

no angelina: http://www.duplicitymovie.net/