Julia Roberts, capable as always in light comedy, meets her match in Clive Owen, who usually eyes his female costars with glowering puzzlement, but operates in
Duplicity with genuine warmth for Roberts. Tony Gilroy, who wrote and directed the phenomenal Michael Clayton, lightens up and writes and directs this slight spy comedy. The movie is successful in making its spy mumbo-jumbo interesting, but more notably, Duplicity constructs its romantic plot with a cynical bent.
Roberts and Owen do not conquer Refreshingly, insurmountable odds to get together, but, rather, we get the sense that these two double-crossers simply deserve each other.
This article appears in Mar 26 – Apr 1, 2009.