Duplicity is the new movie by Tony Gilroy, starring Julia Roberts, Clive Owen, Paul Giamatti and Tom Wilkinson.

Plot:
Ray (Clive Owen), a MI5 agent and Claire (Julia Roberts), a CIA agent meet at a party and sleep with each other. The next morning, Claire disappears after stealing information from Ray. Years later, they meet working on the same assignement – spying on Howard Tully’s (Tom Wilkinson) company for his competitor Richard Garsik (Paul Giamatti).

Duplicity is a nice RomCom and doesn’t pretend to be much more. It’s funny and I really liked Ray and Claire’s relationship. While it won’t get movie of the year, it’s entertaining and satisfying.

[SPOILERS]

Duplicity is one of those twist-heavy movies. Who’s playing who? X is playing Y? No, Y is playing X! NO! Z is playing Y! etc. But it never gets really out of hand (unlike in some other movies). You always know what’s happening and I only saw about half of the twists coming.

Clive Owen and Julia Roberts have a very good chemistry going and I really liked their (admittedly crazy) relationship – I think it’s a good take on what it would look like if you had a relationship between two people who constantly question their trust in the other person. 

Honestly, their acting was sparkling and refreshing. Sounds weird, but if you see the movie, you’ll know what I mean.

And it was funny – the scene where Claire and Ray meet for the second time and when it’s replayed was absolutely awesome. But I have to admit that the film had me at the opening credits during the fight between Tully and Garsik on the airport. I laughed tears, I swear.

I guess I didn’t trust Tony Gilroy enough because I honestly didn’t expect to be so well entertained. The script is tight and keeps you on your toes, but it never gets too much. The chronology, even though it’s not told chronologically, is always clear and as you discover yet another layer (and yet another twist), it gets more delightful.

I’d definitely recommend it for a nice evening of not thinking too much entertainment.