Duplicity of disappointment (3/09)

Imagine if Pepsi had covert spies wandering around Coca-Cola offices, or Microsoft sent undercover agents to work in Apple Inc. A corporate world dominated by espionage, a business enterprise undermined by top-secret leaks. Mystery would surround every paper clip, danger would lurk around every cubicle. “Duplicity” seeks to expose the secret world of corporations by giving us two hours of bantering dialogue and boring plot twists.

Ray Koval (Clive Owen) and Claire Stenwick (Julia Roberts) are two spies with a romantic past who hatch a plan to steal millions from two corporations. Paul Giamatti and Tom Wilkinson play the corporate heads that are introduced to us in a lengthy slow-mo fight scene. Ray and Claire seek to outwit their bosses by going undercover and keeping their ears open to profitable products.

“Duplicity” attempts to break the “spy movie” mold by limiting the action and replacing it with attempted humor. There are no car chases, no cool gadgets, no jumping off buildings. Not even a single evil boss or torture scene. Instead we get a cutesy romance and a secret million-dollar product.

Claire and Ray are separately hired by the two corporations to spy on the other company. Claire works with Ray to discover something that will score them a ton of cash. “Be in the right place, at the right time,” is the main course of action.

Roberts and Owen have already played their respective roles dozens of times. For years Roberts’ has been the tough, fast-taking beauty. Owen has repeatedly played a sweet Brit with a dangerous edge. Both actors have obvious time-tested talents, but they fall short of establishing warmth and complexity in “Duplicity.”

Claire and Ray are not very convincing or interesting as a couple. They decide they need millions of dollars merely so they can live in luxurious hotels and have endless romantic nights. “Duplicity” fails to make the audience care about Claire and Ray’s financial stability because they are neither noble nor well defined. We are forced through multiple flashbacks filled with tiresome banter. The couple seems needlessly greedy, giving their goal little credibility.

There is no clear antagonist and no definite heroes in “Duplicity.” Every character seems to be both good and bad, not really giving the audience the ability to connect or hate anybody. The corporate bosses are not evil, and the two spies are too cold to be heroic.

The attempts at humor in “Duplicity” are somewhat confusing. The film does not commit to being an action film, or a full-out comedy. “Duplicity” could have been a brilliant comedy, because the plot is fairly ridiculous. If Julia Roberts was replaced by Tina Fey and Clive Owen replaced with Steve Carrel, the film could have been worth watching. Roberts and Owen seem uncertain of whether to run with a joke or move on to the next scene.

“Duplicity” would have had a clear objective as a comedy instead of as an ambiguous spy romance. The columniation of the film comes when the product that is going to change the world is revealed. The product is meant to be a revolutionary idea but is actually quite embarrassing. If it was meant to be funny it would be one thing, but the audience is intended to be impressed with the product’s genius.

About ten people walked out of the theater while “Duplicity” was playing. The film is overly proud of its showy dialogue, characters and jokes and therefore unaware of its failures. If “Duplicity” was more defined and more focused it could have been a worthwhile movie. Instead we wait hours for a pay-off and but are left with nothing.