Duplicity

From the trailers, “Duplicity” seems like “Ocean’s Two,” where Clive Owen and Julia Roberts replace Danny Ocean and his crew in swindling some titan of industry. The first five minutes of the film would lead you to believe the same, with moving split screens, a pseudo-electronic soundtrack and the presence of a sultry Julia Roberts.

Then the opening credits roll, and you get a sense that this movie might be something different. Two jowly men (Paul Giamatti and Tom Wilkinson) spend the entire six-minute sequence wrestling, and the ridiculousness of it all opens up the film right away.

What follows is a movie that shifts between romantic comedy and spy film almost effortlessly, and the star-studded cast of Roberts, Giamatti, Wilkinson and Clive Owen (“Inside Man,” “The International”) pull it off quite nicely.

Owen and Roberts, who meet in the opening scene that takes place a few years before the main action, seem to have an attraction for each other beyond their mutual love of good champagne. The questions of whether or not this attraction is merely a means to accomplishing their mission is what the entire movie hinges upon.

Owen is working for Giamatti’s company, trying to steal a miracle product from Wilkinson’s rival company. And did I mention that Roberts is the head of security for Wilkinson’s company?

It is very interesting to observe two people who are in the business of not trusting anyone, try their hands at a real relationship, and the trust that becomes necessary when you’re in one. Their relationship can be summed up by one of Roberts’ quotes in the movie, “Admit it. You don’t trust me either.”

One of the interesting themes of the movie is how the distrust that comes with espionage is so close to the distrust that relationships can breed. By the end, it has almost become a staring contest between the two, the only question is who will blink first.

Roberts and Owen have a very good give-and-take throughout the film, as it takes almost half an hour for the viewer to know the exact nature of their relationship. As they move forward in the present, flashbacks clue us in, one step at a time, just how these two people got to where they are and what they are doing.

“Duplicity” is one of those films where the viewer doesn’t see everything, plot elements are carefully portioned out when necessary. This can at times be jarring, sometimes it seems as though when the plot is finally picking up, there is another flashback. At first it seems to derail the building suspense, but as we learn more about the characters’ past, we can begin to guess as to where it is going.

The cinematography of the film is different than a standard spy flick. Offices can be as vast as canyons, and cityscapes can feel as claustrophobic as a plastic bag. Many of the more intense scenes are visually striking, whether is it the play of shadows, the view outside of a window or

There are some genuinely funny moments, some painfully awkward moments and moments when everyone but the characters can see what’s about to happen.

On one hand, by combining a romantic comedy with a spy film, one could say the movie tries to do too much, that it spreads itself too thin. On the other hand, it could be seen as an interesting take on the nature of relationships and trust in the most trying of circumstances.

Either way, it keeps you guessing until the last cork is popped, literally. The ending might not satisfy everyone, but the ride is more than worth it.

Rating - $9.00