Customer Reviews

Deception [Blu-ray]

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(5)
3 star:		(15)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(9)

 

 

Short Attention Span Summary (SASS):

1. Geeky accountant meets smooth-talking lawyer
2. Geek spots attractive blonde on train
3. Audience suffers stereotype overload
4. Second-hand designer suit and cell phone switcheroo leads to geek getting a life
5. ... and maybe losing his


Great performances by Ewan McGregor (geeky accountant), Hugh Jackman (smooth-talking lawyer), Charlotte Rampling (smoldering seductress) and Michelle Williams (attractive blonde) are almost eclipsed by an unrealistic screenplay involving the intertwining of two different storylines into a forgettable psychological drama, that starts well, but then is frittered away to absolutely nothing much.

You already know pretty much what's going on just by reading the title, so I'll just add that it involves mutually agreeable short term relationships, financial finagling and ruthless rub-outs. There are many twists, and a couple of them (or at least one in particular) are quite good.

Rent it for the acting, but it probably won't initiate a purchase decision.



Amanda Richards, October 4, 2008

You know the drill. Don't trust strangers. If it looks too good to be true, it probably is (too good to be true). There's no such thing as love at first sight. Money rules. Love conquers all.

Mix all of these maxims together and you get this film. Add first-rate acting by the entire cast and you get solid entertainment.

Ewan McGregor plays Jonathan McQuarry, a painfully shy auditor who works major corporate accounts. Wyatt Bose (Hugh Jackman) meets the super lonely auditor and quickly becomes his best (only?) friend. Bose gives McQuarry access to a sex club that seems to be, well, too good to be true. Michelle Williams is the enigmatic "S" who captures the shy man's heart. Everything goes just smashingly until the other shoe drops. And, of course, other shoes always drop.

I don't want to give anything away. The suspense starts early on and continues until the final frame. Others have attacked this film for being too cliched or formulaic. There's something to this criticism, but I found the acting and direction more than powerful enough to earn five stars.

That's about how exciting this movie was. Don't blame the actors though, they tried. In the end, Deception was the proverbial "silk purse on a sow's ear"--the silk purse being the actors, the cinematography--the technical infrastructure of the film; the sow's ear being the script, which reminded me of so many other movies that I'd seen and also didn't like.

The storyline involves an isolated timid accountant (Ewen McGregor)and his chance--cliche'd meeting with a cool, sophisticated, and charismatic corporate lawyer (Hugh Jackman)who introduces McGregor's shy character to a world of corporate hi-rise whore-houses. After sexing a thousand call-girls in just about every yoga position imaginable, McGregor's numbed "sexually awakened" character comes full-circle--being a stud isn't all that he thought it would be. Involuntarily, he falls for one of his many call-girls, a limp, beautiful blonde who happens to be in cahoots with Jackman's character to blackmail McGregor into moving millions into an offshore banking account.

See, I told you that you'd seen this film before. Throughout Deception--fitting title--I anticipated that big moment--that surprise--that would ease the slow pregnant feeling growing from my stomach into the seat of my pants. When the end-credits scrolled down the screen I realized that I'd just wasted two hours of my life--two hours that I'll never see again--on a bad movie. If you like good cinematography, professional--and dry-- acting, and sex see deception. If you want to see a decent movie, save your money and your time.

I enjoyed this thriller with its neo-noir look ( very evocative of Manhattan) and its excellent casting and performances. The plot is credible, even if some of the twists are probably a little too easy to project. But the buildup is tension-filled and the resolution is a tongue-in-cheek nod to the profession of the main protagonist ( certainly a made-in-accountant-heaven solution!). The most memorable scenes are the bonding moments between two unlikely friends in a world where it could be very lonely if you didn't belong! In this case, the club was a sex club, populated by successful New York financial community professionals looking for "intimacy without the intricacy" ( in the words of the character portrayed by Charlotte Rampling, in a cameo).

I particularly liked the excellent performances. There is the very good performance from Ewan McGregor as the low-key, fun-starved auditor who plods along from one audit job to another. He embues his characterization with the right timidity and somewhat awed regard for his new-found friend and social mentor. Hugh Jackman is equally outstanding in a dramatic shift from his usual leading-man roles, this time as a villain with a criminal agenda. He is suave, sophisticated, and self-assured but when he forces the timid Jonathan to pursue a major international fraud, he is chilling! Very credible portrayal from Jackman, who is increasingly taking on more and more varied screen roles ( his 1-2 acting punch in The Prestige and The Fountain still stuns). Perhaps it is the theatre background of both Jackman and McGregor which allows them to switch to different character roles in the movies with ease and credibility. Michelle Williams projects the right amount of vulnerability in a role that is key to the plot.

Go get the DVD, if you missed the movie in the cinema!

This movie was captivating for the first half but the ending seemed rushed and not well thought out. It was almost as if the screen writer just ran out of steam at the end. Ewan McGregor gave a commanding performance of the meek account, Jonathan McQuarry. Hugh Jackman and Michele Williams were the stereotypical villain and femme fatale.

"Derailed" with Clive Owen and Jennifer Aniston is a better movie in the same genre.

When quick friendship is struck between dorky accountant Jonathan McQuarry (McGregor) and suave, playboy lawyer Wyatt Bose (Hugh Jackman), the relationship of leader and led, alpha and beta male, is quickly established. It's Spike the Bulldog and Chester the Terrier, "Hey Spike, what do you want to do today!?" After some reefer, some tennis, and a bit of friendly banter, Wyatt not only gets Jonathan to admit to only having bedded four women in his lifetime, but also that rich women who are busy and horny are easy for simply those two reasons. When a lunch date produces a phone mix up, things get interesting.

If the secret club of Eyes Wide Shut had any appeal, it's rivaled by "The List" in Deception. Imagine if business aristocracy found Heidi Fleiss' little black book, erased the names, and then passed around the numbers to other like-mindedly promiscuous and prosperous. It sounds great until the immortal words of The Notorious B.I.G. are remembered, Mo Money Mo Problems. Too true, player, too true. When it comes to the expensive games the wealthy play, the numbers don't quite add up for Jonathan.

The reality of this movie is the same as actual reality: Most men probably want Hugh Jackman's life. Hell, most want his name alone. When said phonetically, it sounds like Huge Ackman, which is at the very least metaphorical.

Along with an interesting supporting performance from Michelle Williams, the combination of McGregor and Jackman really carry the film and distract enough from the plot-holes. McGregor absolutely nails the nerd role, and Jackman is completely shocking and sinister as antagonist.

The story and buildup of this movie are original enough to be somewhat enjoyable. The primary disappointment of the film is the obvious "surprise" ending. The twist is not quite the paint-by-the-numbers approach of the Ocean's Eleven series, but the double-double-cross is predictable enough to stretch beyond foreshadowing; it's FOURshadowed.

A rental for average film buffs, a must purchase for the optimistic sex addict.

Who doesn't want to watch gorgeous people make love?
Yeah, we'd rather do it ourselves, but that's what sells the movie.

It's like a tank with both treads intact gallavanting about the country.
One tread breaks.
The tank spins in the mud, going in circles.
It digs itself in & can't break free.

That's how the plot goes once the sex circle theme is exhausted.
From there, lights out ... & not in a good way
;)

Leave your inghibitions at the door as Hugh Jackman (X-Men Trilogy) and Michelle Williams (Brokeback Mountain) lure Ewan McGregor (Moulin Rouge) into a tangled web of lust and lies in this scorching thriller. Lonely, timid accountant Jonathan McQuarry (McGregor) lives only for his work - until a chance meeting with suave, charismnatic corporate lawyer Wyatt Bose (Jackman) introduces him to "The List". Suddenly, the right mobile phone number and the words "Are You Free Tonight?", launch Jonathan on a decadent journey of sexual conquests and self-discovery amidst New York's power elite. But an affair with a ravishing and mysterious stranger (Williams) will expose him to yet another world he never imagined: one of betrayal, treachery and murder!

great video. great cast.

It is a captivating movie with plenty of suspense.

Perhaps I am not the only one who thinks any films with such names as Hugh Jackman and Ewan McGregor is always worth seeing. Moreover, one notable thing about "Deception" is that the film is co-produced by Hugh Jackman himself. You can see why he was attracted to the role he plays in this film - here Hugh Jackman plays a type of character he is not usually associated with - but I still don't see what part of the film's generic script he found so attractive.

A meek accountant Jonathan (Ewan McGregor) meets a smooth-talking lawyer named Wyatt (Hugh Jackman) in New York City. They soon become friends, but while Wyatt is away from the city, Jonathan is accidentally introduced to a mysterious sex club Wyatt is a member of, and Jonathan encounters a woman simply called "S" (Michelle Williams). Things get complicated and serious, naturally, when Jonathan falls for her and Wyatt comes back.

The premise itself is fairly intriguing. I can also forget the numerous plot holes and implausible situations (how many of us would answer the phone and go out to meet a stranger like Jonathan does?). As to the sex club, I would not be surprised if it really exists and watching the supporting players such as Natasha Henstridge, Maggie Q and Charlotte Rampling is amusing. Also, Dante Spinotti's night scene photography using Genesis digital video camera is aptly cold, capturing the atmosphere of the office Jonathan works in.

But the film is slow, the characters are flat, and most importantly, the plot is obvious. First-time director Marcel Langenegger drops so many hints as to the story carelessly in the first half of the film that I started to think the predictability is actually a ploy to deceive us. I wish it were.