At first glance, Duplicity may not seem like it came from the same guy whose previous directing job was the super-serious morality tale Michael Clayton. After all, this is a light screwball comedy that features CEOs fighting each other in slow motion for almost five minutes (hilariously, might I add). George Clooney's fixer has no place here.
But exploding cars or not, writer/director Tony Gilroy is returning to that same world of big, corrupt New York business, with the same big empty offices and amazing views of the Manhattan skyline. This time though he takes the opposite tact, not exposing businesses as dark and malicious but laughing at their obvious greed.
He presents two rival CEOs in the same field (the fact that they take soaps and shampoos so seriously is an effective joke) - the classy one (Tom Wilkinson) and the not-so-classy one (Paul Giamatti). When word leaks that the former has a top secret product, the latter uses all of his high-powered intelligence resources to find out what it is.
The story's not about them though, and Gilroy's smart to keep them largely in the supporting sphere. This story is about Ray (Clive Owen) and Claire (Julia Roberts), two ex-spies planning to use the rivalry to their own advantage. Each has a job at one of the companies, but only so they can get the formula first for their own benefit. But since their relationship began with Claire drugging and swiping documents from Ray, can they ever really trust each other?
The story is then half screwball comedy, half spy caper, and for me the former half succeeds better. Sometimes the McGuffin gets a little too much screentime, and all the dry business talk makes you notice the increased length between laughs. Also, while the ending does have some satisfying twists, there's nothing quite as surprising as you might like out of a straight-up spy movie.
So it's good the movie succeeds so well as a comedy. Gilroy's writing is top-notch, stuffed with witty and funny lines that would have felt just as right coming from the mouths of Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn. Writing chase sequences in the Bourne movies seems like a waste when you see how well he can make his dialogue crackle and pop. Whenever Ray and Claire are jabbing each other, the movie is at its funniest.
Speaking of Cary Grant and Katharine Hepburn, Clive Owen and Julia Roberts do an impressive job of filling those mighty shoes. Now, Julia Roberts generally annoys me, and this movie was no exception. But I do love Clive Owen, whose charm and dry British humor gives the movie a lot of its energy. And I admit that Roberts makes a good partner for him, as their chemistry is what makes their scenes work. She may annoy me, but she still does a good job.
Duplicity doesn't have the same lofty ambitions of Michael Clayton. It just wants to entertain, but to do so intelligently. Check and check. If you want to enjoy some laughs without putting your brain to sleep first, this is a good pick for you. If not, then I guess there's a reason Fast and Furious made $72 million last weekend.
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