JIM reviews film "DUPLICITY" -- Wham, SCAM, Thank you Ma’am! =

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“DUPLICITY” — Wham, SCAM, Thank you Ma’am! =

Rating: 8 of 10 stars (based upon a DVD version projected at a local library).

Richard Garsik (PAUL GIAMATTI) runs a large soap-based conglomerate, & hates his competitor Howard Tully (TOM WILKENSON) who heads a rival company. They both are in constant efforts to outdo the other, to the point that they each have set up special intelligence units in their companies to monitor & steal secrets from the other. In the midst of this roiling rivalry, they hire spies Ray Koval (CLIVE OWEN) at Paul’s company & Claire Stenwick (JULIA ROBERTS) at Tom’s firm.

But, as fate (& deception) would have it, those 2 secret agents KNOW each other & have had a long-time involvement. Wanting to profit as much as possible, Clive & Julia appear to be DOUBLE- (& possibly TRIPLE)-dealing with the various outfits (and maybe even with each other?). They’re impressive with their periodic fast-paced patter, duplicitous deceits, flip-flop flintiness and devilish deviations. Until the end, it’s not clear just what’s what & who’s really working for who. It’s the back-&-forth machinations between the various characters that mark this as unusually enjoyable. Thus, if you like resourceful twists & turns, you’ll likely luxuriate in this well-acted and cleverly-constructed concoction.