Deception
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Actor: Charlotte Rampling, Daniel Lugo, Ewan McGregor, Hugh Jackman, Michelle WilliamsBrand: JACKMAN,HUGH
Cinematographer: Jonathan Wenk
Composer: Ramin Djawadi
DVD: Region Code 1
Audio: English (Unknown); English (Subtitled); Spanish (Subtitled); English (Original Language); French (Dubbed); Spanish (Dubbed)
Format: AC-3, Color, Dolby, Dubbed, DVD, NTSC, Subtitled, Widescreen
Picture Format: 2.40:1
Running Time: 107 minutes
DVD Release Date: 2008-09-23
Audience Rating: R (Restricted)
Studio: 20th Century Fox
DVD Reviews of Deception
DVD Review: Sex, Lies, and Accounting
Summary: 4 Stars
"Deception" is to the thriller genre what a pulp detective novel is to literature: it's a guilty pleasure that satisfies, even though something better is always an option. I never believed that this story was in any way, shape, or form possible, but I certainly had fun watching it. As the title suggests, many of the characters are intentionally giving off the wrong impression, and by the time we discover their true natures, something new is revealed. This isn't to say that the film is overloaded with plot twists; the mystery eventually comes to an end with little confusion, and that's good for anyone who actually wants to follow along with the details. I will say that I was concerned entering the theater, because let's face it--a title like "Deception" makes one wonder just how far it will go to fool the audience.
We're immediately introduced to Jonathan McQuarry (Ewan McGregor), a timid accountant for some unnamed firm in New York City. While working late, he meets Wyatt Bose (Hugh Jackman), an extremely charismatic attorney. He instantaneously gets on McQuarry's good side, first by sharing a joint with him, second by involving him in activities he would never be a part of. They become friends, but it's obvious that something sinister is lurking behind Bose's devilish smile. McQuarry begins to discover this when the two accidentally switch cell phones during a lunch meeting--while Bose is supposedly on a London business trip, McQuarry keeps getting phone calls from women who ask if he's available, believing he's Bose. Feeling emboldened, McQuarry decides to take one of the women up on her offer and meet at a hotel.
And that's when he discovers that Bose is part of a sex club that caters to people interested in one-night stands. McQuarry eventually meets a Wall Street belle (Charlotte Rampling) who states the two basic rules: no rough stuff, and no names. In this seemingly harmless world of casual sex, McQuarry eventually meets a woman known only as S (Michelle Williams). Both are initially uncomfortable because they realize they had met before in a subway station. To alleviate the tension, they break the rules and actually strike up long-winded conversations. They also go on dinner dates from time to time. What they don't do is share their real names. However, McQuarry seems to think that a romance is developing, so it seems likely that all such missing pieces will eventually fall into place.
Then again, maybe they won't. When both stay in a Chinatown hotel, McQuarry returns to his room only to be knocked unconscious by a masked assailant, just as he notices that the bed sheets are stained with blood. He comes to hours later--not only are the bed sheets perfectly clean, S is nowhere to be found. It would seem that McQuarry has unknowingly been drawn into something much bigger than he thought, and what's worse, it has everything to do with Wyatt Bose. I won't reveal who he really is, what he plans to do, why he wants to do it, how he involves McQuarry, and what has happened to S, but rest assured that it's all about as sinister as you expect it to be, and no more. At a certain point, McQuarry accuses Bose of being a liar: "Those weren't lies," Bose says maliciously. "That was foreplay." I can't quote the rest of that line for censorship reasons, but believe me when I say that the next bit of dialogue was oddly satisfying.
The same can be said for the movie as a whole, even if the story is less believable than Michelle William's bleach blonde hair. I found myself caught up in the suspense, the way it slowly built itself before going right to light speed at the start of the third act. McQuarry is much more resourceful at that point, which is expected not only because his life is in jeopardy, but also because he begins the film as a mousy nobody. Then again, I'm not entirely sure he changes by the end of the movie--his love for S is motivating him more than anything else, which is odd considering he little he knows about her, least of all her name. Following her so blindly just doesn't seem logical. But I don't think logic is what the filmmakers were aiming for. "Deception" is a good old-fashioned mystery, adhering strictly to a formula of pure entertainment; chances are you'll find the plot twists more interesting than the coherence of the story.
The same can be said for the performances, which are only as good as this film allows them to be. Jackman isn't much of a surprise here, since his role doesn't call for anything grander than being a villain. McGregor, on the other hand, reveals a refreshing new side to his personality. Being small and meek is a lot harder to pull off than being the tough guy--you need to be shy and vulnerable while making it look like you're desperate to prove something. I sensed that from his character and appreciated it, despite the fact that the story didn't always support it. But since I didn't expect anything more or less than what was delivered, I guess it's okay. I got my money's worth from "Deception," and you will too as long as you're able to suspend disbelief and go with the flow. It's like being a client in an underground sex club--everyone can go home happy as long as no questions are asked.
Description of Deception
An accountant is introduced to a mysterious, sex-dating club known as The List by his lawyer friend. He becomes enthralled in this new lifestyle, but he soon becomes the prime suspect in a womanâ??s disappearance and a multimillion-dollar heist.With its attractive cast and "stylish thriller" vibe, Deception is a much better movie than a raft of negative reviews might suggest--provided that you can suspend (if not completely discard) your disbelief and go along for the ride. The first feature by veteran commercial director Marcel Langenegger, it stars Ewan McGregor as Jonathan McQuarry, a mousy freelance tax auditor who?s taken under the wing of one Wyatt Bose (Hugh Jackman), a slick, ultra-confident Manhattan lawyer. We know from jump that Jonathan?s new best friend isn?t all, or even any, that he seems, and sure enough, when the pair "accidentally" switch cell phones, a series of credibility-defying events destined to turn Jonathan?s bleak, lonely life upside down is set in motion. At first, it?s all good, as the wide-eyed young CPA finds himself joining "The List," a Wall Street sex club that brings together lawyers, stockbrokers, and other professionals whose lives are too busy for anything more than brief, anonymous assignations at various high-rent hotels (exchanging real names is verboten is this world). But apparently spending nights with the likes of Natasha Henstridge and Charlotte Rampling isn?t enough; when he meets the blonde beauty known only as "S" (Michelle Williams), the club?s credo of "intimacy without intricacy" goes out the window, lust turns to love, and Jonathan is drawn into a protracted cat-and-mouse game that leads to murder, big-time corporate embezzlement, identity switches, and other nefarious activity. One needn?t be Nostradamus to predict where all of this is headed, but that?s hardly the point. Even if you don?t buy a single moment of it, Deception is fun, flashy, and entertaining--and since when is pure escapism a bad thing? --Sam Graham
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