Duplicity (2009)

Director:

Tony Gilroy

Writer (WGA):

Tony Gilroy (written by)

Release Date:

20 March 2009 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

Outwit. Outspy. Outsmart. Outplay. Then get out.

Plot:

A pair of corporate spies who share a steamy past hook up to pull off the ultimate con job on their respective bosses.

Plot Keywords:

Dubai | Flashback | Corporation | Spy | Con

Awards:

Nominated for Golden Globe. Another 1 nomination

Cast

  (Cast overview, first billed only)

Clive Owen	...	Ray Koval
Julia Roberts	...	Claire Stenwick
Tom Wilkinson	...	Howard Tully
Paul Giamatti	...	Richard Garsik
Dan Daily	...	Garsik's Aide
Lisa Roberts Gillan	...	Tully's Assistant (as Lisa Roberts Gillan)
David Shumbris	...	Turtleneck
Rick Worthy	...	Dale Raimes
Oleg Shtefanko	...	Boris Fetyov (as Oleg Stefan)
Denis O'Hare	...	Duke Monahan
Kathleen Chalfant	...	Pam Frailes
Khan Baykal	...	Dinesh Patel
Thomas McCarthy	...	Jeff Bauer
Wayne Duvall	...	Ned Guston
Fabrizio Brienza	...	Hotel Manager

Also Known As:

Duplicity - Gemeinsame Geheimsache (Germany)

MPAA:

Rated PG-13 for language and some sexual content.

Runtime:

125 min | Turkey:118 min

Country:

USA | Germany

Language:

English | Spanish | Russian | German

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

USA:PG-13 (certificate #45010) | Ireland:12A | Australia:PG | Finland:K-7 | South Korea:12 | UK:12A | Switzerland:10 (canton of Geneva) | Switzerland:10 (canton of Vaud) | Portugal:M/12 | Singapore:PG | Canada:PG (Alberta/British Columbia/Manitoba/Ontario) | Hong Kong:IIA | Belgium:KT | Netherlands:6 | Philippines:PG-13 (MTRCB) | Argentina:13 | Mexico:B | Sweden:Btl | New Zealand:PG | Norway:A | Australia:M (DVD rating)

Filming Locations:

Atlantis Casino, Paradise Island, Bahamas

Company:

Universal Pictures

Trivia:

The magazine that Claire is reading while she's waiting is The Economist.

Goofs:

Factual errors: The US Consulate General in Dubai is not in a nice villa like in the movie, but in a skyscraper.

Quotes:

Ray Koval: Then you seduce me, then you drug me and ransack my hotel room.
Claire Stenwick: I'm sorry.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Duplicity/Knowing/I Love You, Man (#1.4)" (2009)

Soundtrack:

Farruca

a quick review of Duplicity

I don't watch many crime thrillers, because they usually turn out to be not remotely believable or personal, but Duplicity was a pleasant departure from the stereotype. It was really more of a romantic comedy (-ish dramedy, even) within the structure of a crime thriller. The two lead characters were actually pretty believable, aside from their supernatural cockiness that you kind of have to expect from spies in a spy movie (although I was sad that we got so little background or history on either character). Their troubles definitely weren't common, but they were easy to sympathize with, somehow. On top of that, it was delightful and kind of thrilling to see how their relationship was built. (The movie put together their history piece by piece, rather than giving it to us chronologically, which I generally think is a more fun way of witnessing a story.) The other big part of what made this movie so fun was that the objects of our spies' investigation was a couple of skincare corporations! Finally, we get to see tactical drama surrounding something other than a casino, a bank, or a government. Something like a cosmetics company is mundane enough that it becomes fun to play with in the context of large-scale crime drama. Even our favorite CEO's nerdy remarks ("Well, it's a common misconception that "lotion" and "cream" are the same thing") are kind of endearing and bring you back to the fact that this could be an actual corporation run by actual business nerds. So yes, safe to say that this movie was worth watching, and had me walking out of the theater wishing I was a spy. Go watch it.