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:

Earlier titles of the film included The List and The Tourist.

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:

Wyatt Bose: Don't think you cannot climb the wall. You're the only one guarding it.

Movie Connections:

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

Jackman and McGregor, in the least gripping thriller ever.

Ahh Jackman what have they done to you. It's a wonder how such talented actors were tempted by such a weak and uninteresting plot. Deception manages to combine a novel premise with one of the lousiest executions in history and in that sense only ever manages to succeed in one area. That's its stellar and often unused cast. Brilliant as they might be even the actors cannot excuse this joke of a movie being as bad as it is especially when I had high hopes for it.

Truth is the only thing that is deceiving about this garbage is its sophisticated trailer promising a well crafted and gripping thriller only what we get is completely the opposite. Lacking in potential to make you want to stay until the closing credits and to be perfectly honest I nearly walked out. But surely if it's as poor as I described i would have awarded it a more "unwatchable " review. And yet with all of its flaws and mishaps Deception does get something right, well for 20 minutes at least it manages to capture a minor bit of interest.

A disconnected accountant finds his mundane life injected with a new sense of urgency after striking up a friendship with a charismatic attorney in director Marcel Langenegger's sexually charged action thriller.

Jonathan (Ewan McGregor) is an accountant who has lost his passion in life. When his powerful new lawyer friend, Wyatt (Hugh Jackman), introduces Jonathan to a salacious underground sex club called The List, the the dejected accountant soon believes he has found the woman of his dreams (Michelle Williams). His newfound happiness takes a turn for the worse, however, when Jonathan is named the prime suspect in the woman's disappearance as well as the theft of 20 million dollars.

Early on, there is an element of aspiration lifestyle envy about it all, as if fancy clothes and well-designed surroundings really do make a life, if not at least the making of a good watch commercial. Once the twists start twisting, the film loses any sense of genuine human behavior and becomes a slave to its own chunky plotting. The movie that took a moment to name-check the German artist Gerhard Richter (and even pause to admire one of his paintings) gets left by the wayside.

Once it gets up to speed, the various tricks and complications of the movie, written by Mark Bomback, are so baldly cherry-picked from other films that it half seems as if Deception is meant as some kind of Sexy Movie parody to go in line with the recent Epic, Date and Scary entries.

My Final Verdict? Avoid at all costs. Deception takes its place among the outing of 2008 that were so dull and uninteresting that its almost impossible not to walk out. If you're interested in such erotic thrillers however your best of seeing the massively overrated Original Sin starring Antonio Banderas. As for Deception your best of leaving this one otherwise you'll just be regretting your decision the Moring after.