Duplicity (2009)

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

Director:

Tony Gilroy

Writer:

Tony Gilroy

Stars:

Clive Owen, Julia Roberts, Tom Wilkinson

Nominated for 1 Golden Globe. Another 1 win & 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 (as Tom McCarthy)
Wayne Duvall	...	Ned Guston
Fabrizio Brienza	...	Hotel Manager

Storyline

Ray works for MI6, Claire for the CIA. She burns him in Dubai. Jump ahead five years: he sees her in Grand Central and confronts her. Both now work in industrial security for corporate giants whose CEOs hate each other. Flashbacks fill us in: is it coincidence that he sees her in Grand Central? In about a week, one of the firms is going to announce a revolutionary product. Under the guise of helping that corporation's rival, can Ray and Claire work their own theft and find an independent buyer? To work together, using the corporate rivalry to their advantage, they would have to trust one another - difficult, if not impossible. Or, is one playing the other?

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Plot Keywords:

product | con | spy | dubai | flashback | 

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Taglines:

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

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Genres:

Crime | Romance | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated PG-13 for language and some sexual content

Details

Official Sites:

Official site [es] Official site [fr]

Country:

USA Germany

Language:

English Spanish Russian German

Release Date:

20 March 2009 (USA)

Also Known As:

Duplicidad

Filming Locations:

Atlantis Casino, Paradise Island, Bahamas

Box Office

Budget:

$60,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

£796,244 (UK) (20 March 2009)

Gross:

$40,559,930 (USA) (22 May 2009)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Universal Pictures, Relativity Media, Laura Bickford Productions

Technical Specs

Runtime:

125 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The character of Claire Stenwick is named for classic-era movie actress Barbara Stanwyck.

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Goofs

In the scene when Ray and Claire are in bed at the Italian hotel, the position of Claire's hair changes between cuts when she is lying on the pillow (ear exposed/not).

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Quotes

Claire Stenwick: My caper's in the Bahamas. Where's yours?
Ray Koval: Cleveland.

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Connections

Referenced in The Rotten Tomatoes Show: Miss March/Race to Witch Mountain/Sunshine Cleaning (2009)

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Soundtracks

"Brick House"
Written by Lionel Richie, Ronald LePread, Walter Orange, Milan Williams,
Thomas McClary, William King
Performed by The Morans

User Reviews

Conned

I was lured to see this on the promise of a smart, witty slice of old fashioned fun and intrigue - I was conned. A knowing, pretentious, tedious, overlong story which suffocates under its own artifice. Starring Julia Roberts ( Claire Stenwick) ,and Clive Owen (Ray Koval), as "Duplicitous" spies, the film tries to recreate the glitter, froth and intrigue of roles made famous by the likes of Cary Grant in the 1950's, yet fails under leaden direction and total lack of chemistry between the leads.

Director "Michael Clayton" Tony Gilroy also has writing credits for The Bourne series, so his credentials are excellent. But Clive Owen seems ill at ease as a romantic, witty lead apparently yearning for the opportunity to play the more robust part he played in the under rated "International". Julia Roberts shines in one of her better performances, offering more than her obvious glamour but without the quality of script to enable her to truly excel. She seems barely bothered about enticing Owen into bed, and the word play between them consistently falls flat.

An extensive travelogue incorporating London, Rome, New York, Dubai and Geneva provides some scenic interest, as these erstwhile CIA and MI6 spies swap political espionage for industrial espionage turning into criminal espionage. At 126 minutes it is at least 35 minutes too long. Sharper editing, greater pace, and less "flab" might have made this a better picture. But we are left with it as it is, an instantly disposable, and forgettable addition to the respective parties film credits.