Duplicity (2009) 8/10

Starring : Julia Roberts, Clive Owen, Tom Wilkinson, Paul Giamatti
Director : Tony Gilroy
Running Time : 125 mins

Former MI6 agent Ray Koval (Owen) finds himself running into former CIA agent Claire Stenwick (Roberts) continually over the years, but is it coincidence or are the two playing each other. When they take jobs in security for competing companies, the two hatch a plan together to play one company off the other in an attempt to steal the secret formula one of them is planning on announcing which could make them billions, but everything may not be as it seems.

This is a very convoluted look at how companies try to screw over the competition in any way they can possibly imagine, but it is very well managed. By focussing on the characters of Koval and Stenwick, and prioritising their relationship above all else, we are blindsided to the true duplicity of the movie. In a sense, we the audience are duped ourselves, and with great panache.

You’ll like this if you liked : Ocean’s Twelve