Deception (2008/I)

Director:

Marcel Langenegger

Writer (WGA):

Mark Bomback (written by)

Release Date:

25 April 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

When you're in this world, no one is who they seem, and everyone is playing the game.

Plot:

An accountant is introduced to a mysterious sex club known as The List by his lawyer friend. But in this new world, he soon becomes the prime suspect in a woman's disappearance and a multi-million dollar heist.

Plot Keywords:

Club | Sex Club | Sex | Cell Phone | Auditor

Cast

Ewan McGregor	...	Jonathan McQuarry
Hugh Jackman	...	Wyatt Bose
Michelle Williams	...	S
Bruce Altman	...	Lawyer #1
Andrew Ginsburg	...	Lawyer #2
Stephanie Roth Haberle	...	Assistant Controller
Christine Kan	...	Tennis Player #1
Dante Spinotti	...	Herr Kleiner / Mr. Moretti
Karolina Muller	...	Waitress (as Karolina Müller)
Agnete Oernsholt	...	Woman at Waldorf Astoria
Melissa Rae Mahon	...	Velvet Rope Dancer #1
Rachel Montez Collins	...	Velvet Rope Dancer #2
Holly Cruikshank	...	Velvet Rope Dancer #3
Deborah Yates	...	Tango Dancer
Bill Camp	...	Clancey Controller

Also Known As:

The List (USA) (working title)
The Tourist (USA) (working title)
Untitled Hugh Jackman Project (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for sexual content, language, brief violence and some drug use.

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:MA | Ireland:16 | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #43789) | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | Singapore:M18 | Hong Kong:IIB | Taiwan:R-12 (original rating) | Ireland:15 (video rating) | Netherlands:12 | Italy:T | France:U | Finland:K-13 | South Korea:18 | Japan:PG-12 | Argentina:16 | Portugal:M/16 | Iceland:12 (DVD rating) | Iceland:14 | Mexico:B15 | Peru:14

Filming Locations:

Bryant Park, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Seed Productions

Trivia:

Had a seven-week shoot.

Goofs:

Continuity: At the end of the movie when Ewan McGregor's character walks to the Madrid square to meet Michelle Williams' character, in the first shot Ewan wears a white T-shirt under his green V-neck sweater and in the next shots he doesn't.

Quotes:

[repeated line]
Simone Wilkinson: Are you free tonight?

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: (2008-04-26)" (2008)

A Nutshell Review: Deception

The big joke making its rounds here about this movie was in its promotional poster for this part of the world. Perhaps to the West, Maggie Q would be just the chick from MI:3 and didn't warrant top billing, or a photograph in its poster. Here, we have a badly pasted "extra" face of hers plastered on the poster, supposedly banking on her popularity with Asians. Only that as it turned out, she only has 5 minutes worth of screen time, appearing in black lacy lingerie, and doing nothing. If that's the case, then Natasha Hendrige should also be included in the poster, since she's famous for showing off her body in the Species movies, and continues to do so here to remind everyone she hasn't really lost it yet.

While Hancock has been proved not guilty of putting everything in the trailer that you can write a review out of it, the same cannot be said of Deception, no matter how its title sounded like in trying to throw you off track. It is exactly as it is played out in the 2 odd minutes of it, so if you were to want and try to enjoy this, do not watch any of its trailer nor its stills. It really ruined it outright, stripping away all surprises in store. And while Hancock kept important stuff under wraps to bring about heightened pleasure when all get revealed, Deception's "surprise" was like a limp premature ejaculation which didn't make much sense, and insults the audience.

But that's not to say that it was bad all the way. The premise had potential, and if you're going into it blind, then there are enough to intrigue you, especially when it comes to the turn. Ewan McGregor slicks back his hair and puts on glasses to give himself the stereotypical bookish accountant look, in a firm to audit their books. As with all audits, keeping lonely late night vigils is a norm as everyone in the firm you're auditing automatically shun you, for fear of getting questioned. His Jonathan McQuarry cuts a pitiable figure that most of us in the corporate world will probably understand.

In comes a highly sociable, humorous, and charismatic legal counsel of the firm, Wyatt Bose (played by Hugh Jackman, who also serves as producer), and the two hit it off over a late night filled with jokes and the sharing of pot in a conference room, before getting so chummy with each other, that going to strip clubs to chill out seemed perfectly OK. In a careless accident, they switch cell phones, and before you know it, Jonathan gets all excited over the prospect of milking Wyatt's exclusive high society sex club membership, where members call each other up anonymously through the service, and asks a seemingly innocent question "Are you free tonight?".

Sure there are rules to Sex Club, such as no names, no details, no casual chit-chats, just the caller booking a room at the hotel, and the callee turning up as arranged to get their respective rocks off. I'm sure by now plenty of ah-peks would be interested to watch the movie already, but its M18 rating ensured that everything put on screen isn't hardcore stuff. I won't be surprised too if something of this nature already exists, serving a rich clientèle who spend 90% of their waking hours in the office, leaving no time for anything else. Think of it as a matchmaking service that goes into that bit of extra.

Complicating matters of course is when Jonathan falls genuinely in love with one of the members called S (Michelle Williams), whom he met outside of the club at a train station. Being totally smitten with her, he refuses to do the deed, and breaks almost all the rules. Then begin the cat and mouse mind games, which of course would have worked, but the last act just became convenience after convenience, that made it eventually a very lazy piece of storytelling.

Deception tried, but didn't try hard enough. It had great foreplay, adequate skills, but no stamina to last the distance. Strictly for fans of McGregor and Jackman only, and of course those who still want to check Maggie Q out in lingerie, or to admire that Hendsridge still has it in her.