For writer and director Tony Gilroy, it turns out Michael Clayton was only a warm-up. That film was nominated for a slew of Oscars, including Best Picture, Tilda Swinton ultimately taking home the award for Best Supporting Actress. While not a massive success, the movie was nonetheless a fantastic achievement, Gilroy immediately cementing himself as a major filmmaker worth keeping your eye on.

Clive Owen and Julia Roberts get close in Universal Pictures' Duplicity

The wonderfully twisty and unabashedly romantic Duplicity confirms that fact with stylishly invigorating brio. A delicious throwback in both style and texture to films like the original The Thomas Crown Affair and Charade (one of my all-time favorites), this puzzle box of an entertainment is one I found serious delight in. Heck, I think I enjoyed it even more than the director’s previous effort, sure it will be one of the few pictures of the early part of the year that I return to the theater to see for a second time.

The less said about the plot the better. The basic thrust is that former MI6 agent Ray Koval (Clive Owen) and one-time CIA agent Claire Stenwick (Julia Roberts) join forces to pull a fast one on rival multinational conglomerate CEO’s Howard Tully (Tom Wilkinson) and Richard Garsik (Paul Giamatti). Proceeding to double, triple and even quadruple-cross their corporate employers, the two lovers quickly discover there is no one in this backstabbing world they can trust, a list of ne'er-do-wells that even includes themselves.

The film flips back and forth between the actual con itself and all the work Ray and Claire spent setting it up continually, Gilroy going backwards and forwards with such dexterous ease you almost don’t even notice he’s doing it. Every time events inside one of the companies start getting you to scratch your head in bewilderment he’ll suddenly flip the switch and give the audience a small insight into the mechanics of the trap the former spies are springing, this slight hint delivering just the perfect amount of clues allowing clever viewers to ability to figure out the ultimate outcomes on their own.

Both Roberts and Owen have amazing chemistry, the two of them making the screen sizzle as they dance around the love they obviously share one with the other. It has the same zestful zing of classic pairings like Audrey Hepburn and Cary Grant in the aforementioned Charade or Myrna Loy and William Powell in The Thin Man, the two capturing lighting in a bottle that’s a true joy to behold.

Maybe even better, however, is the absolutely hysterical and mesmerizing work turned in by Wilkinson and Giamatti. These two aren’t the focal point, obviously, but they are vitally important to the ultimate outcome, the two of them taking over the proceedings every time their on the screen. But neither of them ever goes over the top or take away from Gilroy’s central thrust, both actors supporting the action so magnificently they completely disappear inside their respective characters.

On technical side the movie is pure perfection. Robert Elswit’s (Redbelt) smooth and seductive cinematography is superb, while John Gilroy (Pride and Glory) edits the picture with absolute precision bordering on the miraculous. Also worthy of notice are James Newton Howard’s (Confessions of a Shopaholic) typically solid score, Kevin Thompson’s (Funny Games) exquisite production design and Albert Wolsky’s (Revolutionary Road) expertly refined costumes.

I do have a complaint. At a certain point, I think Gilroy got a little too obsessed with cramming as much into his narrative as possible, and as such the film goes on a little bit longer than I think it needed to. The second act does noticeably drag, and it isn’t until the climactic payoff starts to take shape that momentum is regained. 

This is a minor quibble, though, and one I almost hesitated to bring up in the first place. Overall, this is a movie I enjoyed immensely. I loved that it continually kept me on my toes and had me guessing who was doing what and why. The ultimate payoff is practically perfect, and by the time it was over Gilroy had me so happily within the palm of his hand I was secretly hoping they’d just rewind the projector so I could watch the darn thing again right then and there. While the con is certainly on, it’s not played on the audience, Duplicity a sensational triumph worth experiencing.

Film Rating: êêê1/2  (out of 4) 

Additional Links:

• Duplicity Theatrical Trailer