(I like how both versions of the poster fit the elements together like elegantly symmetrical puzzle pieces. There’s a clean logic to the layout that seems to key into the same qualities structured into the screenplay.)
Half a dozen early reviews for Duplicity and Tony Gilroy’s romp is averaging a very strong 86 on Metacritic. When even the worst review on the board calls the film a “a glamorous, diverting escapade” it’s time to sit up and pay closer attention to what could be the first Best Original Screenplay contender of the year.
Lou Lumenik at The New York Post says it’s perfect:
“…whip-smart, sexy and delightfully twisty romantic thriller “Duplicity” is more than worth the wait….the new film has an IQ that is much closer to that gold standard for romantic thrillers: “Charade,” with Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn… Some of my colleagues think “Duplicity,” which requires audiences to pay close attention, may be too smart for the masses.”
Todd McCarthy, Variety:
On the surface, “Duplicity” is escapist fare fronted by beautiful stars wearing gorgeous clothes in chic locations made to look extra-alluring by Robert Elswit’s shimmering camerawork. But these are routine qualities compared to some of the other levels on which the film excels, most notably in its adroit synthesis of pulsing drama, bright humor, heady romance, unapologetic maturity, zero tolerance for fools and cheeky awareness of its rejiggered conventions.
Scott Foundas, Village Voice:
“Duplicity is nearly as bubbly as the champagne whose corkage becomes a running motif, as if the heretofore dour Gilroy were finally releasing a long-suppressed giggle… luxuriates in implausible situations, high-caliber dialogue that ricochets off every Dolby Digital speaker, and two immensely likable movie stars who possess the thing that no amount of intra-agency packaging can will into being: chemistry.
Exceptionally favorable reviews out of the gate. We’ll find out tomorrow if these are outliers or the foundation for a general consensus.
