Deception (2008/I)

User Rating:

5.8/10   

Director:

Marcel Langenegger

Writer (WGA):

Mark Bomback (written by)

Release Date:

25 April 2008 (USA)

Genre:

Crime | Drama | Mystery | Romance | Thriller

Tagline:

When you're in this world, no one is who they seem, and everyone is playing the game.

Plot:

An accountant is introduced to a mysterious sex club known as The List by his lawyer friend. But in this new world, he soon becomes the prime suspect in a woman's disappearance and a multi-million dollar heist.

Plot Keywords:

Club | Sex Club | Sex | Cell Phone | Auditor

US TV Schedule:

Sun. Nov. 15

4:40 AM

HBO

Cast

Ewan McGregor	...	Jonathan McQuarry
Hugh Jackman	...	Wyatt Bose
Michelle Williams	...	S
Bruce Altman	...	Lawyer #1
Andrew Ginsburg	...	Lawyer #2
Stephanie Roth Haberle	...	Assistant Controller
Christine Kan	...	Tennis Player #1
Dante Spinotti	...	Herr Kleiner / Mr. Moretti
Karolina Muller	...	Waitress (as Karolina Müller)
Agnete Oernsholt	...	Woman at Waldorf Astoria
Melissa Rae Mahon	...	Velvet Rope Dancer #1
Rachel Montez Collins	...	Velvet Rope Dancer #2
Holly Cruikshank	...	Velvet Rope Dancer #3
Deborah Yates	...	Tango Dancer
Bill Camp	...	Clancey Controller

Also Known As:

The List (USA) (working title)
The Tourist (USA) (working title)
Untitled Hugh Jackman Project (USA) (working title)

MPAA:

Rated R for sexual content, language, brief violence and some drug use.

Runtime:

107 min

Country:

USA

Language:

English

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

Dolby Digital

Certification:

Australia:MA | Ireland:16 | UK:15 | USA:R (certificate #43789) | Philippines:R-13 (MTRCB) | Singapore:M18 | Hong Kong:IIB | Taiwan:R-12 (original rating) | Ireland:15 (video rating) | Netherlands:12 | Italy:T | France:U | Finland:K-13 | South Korea:18 | Japan:PG-12 | Argentina:16 | Portugal:M/16 | Iceland:12 (DVD rating) | Iceland:14 | Mexico:B15 | Peru:14

Filming Locations:

Bryant Park, Manhattan, New York City, New York, USA

Company:

Seed Productions

Trivia:

The match that Ewan McGregor's character sees is a real football match between two teams from Uruguay, which took place in 2006. The teams are called "Nacional" (white blue and red shirt) and "Peñarol" (black and yellow shirt).

Goofs:

Crew or equipment visible: At the end where S and McQuarry split and she sits in a cab there is another cab behind the one she sits into. In that one, the car driver is holding a small digital camera pointed towards the actors.

Quotes:

Jonathan McQuarry: [after having sex with a woman in The List] Can I ask you something? Why do you do this?
Wall Street Belle: For the same reason that men do it - the economics of the arrangement. It's intimacy without intricacy. I work past midnight almost every night.

Movie Connections:

Featured in "Siskel & Ebert & the Movies: (2008-04-26)" (2008)

Good performances, but predictable plot twists.

Jonathan McQuarry, is an accountant who strikes up a friendship with a lawyer called Wyatt Bose. After accidentally swapping phones, McQuarry starts getting calls from women who are part of a group of people who meet purely for casual sexual encounters. During one of these, McQuarry meets a blonde woman whom he becomes close to. When he's attacked and she disappears, he discovers more going on than he realized....

From the above plot description some people can figure out where the story is heading. I for one did. It's a sad fact that the script written by Mark Bomback holds no surprises at all. It also doesn't help that there are plot holes that aren't explained or dealt with. The direction by Marcel Langenegger is okay, but he doesn't add any tension into the movie.

What does save the movie are the three main performances. Michelle Williams is suitably enigmatic as the girl involved, Hugh Jackman as Wyatt Bose brings charm and charisma to the part, and Ewan McGregor as Jonathan McQuarry convinces as the straight, lonely accountant seduced into the events played out.

However the performances alone can't save the movie from being a disappointing, predictable thriller.