All’s fair in love and corporate espionage in Tony Gilroy’s romantic comedic thriller Duplicity, starring Julia Roberts and Clive Owen. New to 4K UHD from Kino Lorber.
The Film
Bubbly and breezy is hard to do, but add in smart, witty, and funny it becomes an almost impossible bar for a single story. Yet writer/director Tony Gilroy sets that high water mark for himself in Duplicity. Somehow, incredibly, Gilroy manages to leap over the standard with the style and grace of a Cheses’re cat.
Duplicity, like Michael Clayton before it and Andor after it, is Gilroy flexing his prowess as a filmmaker of uncommon talent. One whose ability to concoct a script with Swiss-like clockwork precision is only matched by his intelligent collaboration with actors of the highest caliber. Starring Julia Roberts and Clive Owen as a pair of spies who go into business for themselves to con not one but two giant corporations out of a top-secret product they themselves are at war with one another over.
Gilroy cleverly gives us the story of Claire (Roberts) and Ray (Owen) and their relationship in pieces, moving steadily forward towards the present as we watch them work seemingly against one another as corporate counterintelligence officers. Duplicity never shows its hand if Claire and Ray are truly working together, as the entire relationship is based on the need to trust one another, though they are the most duplicitous (hence the title) people on earth. The director manages to make the interplay and true chemistry between Roberts and Owen both sexy and sweet. Their relationship never feels like a con, more like the mistrust is foreplay between two very specific people who found the only kindred spirit in the world for them.
It’s almost easy at this point to take the Star power of Julia Roberts for granted. The smile, the laugh. She’s been an icon since she shared the screen with Richard Gere in 1990 and never looked back. Roberts is an old-school movie star more than any one of her contemporaries, though that does not take away from her talents as an actress. Her ability to inhabit roles has always been downplayed. Here as Claire, she’s given that classic Hollywood golden era role of Movie Star with a Capital M. Yes, she’s a spy, but she’s also in control at every moment she’s on screen.
The film is always centered around Roberts, but like any great studio-made film of a certain era, it uses its resources to perfection. Actors like Clive Owen, Tom Wilkinson, Paul Giamatti, Dennis O’Hare, Kathleen Chalfant, and Carrie Preston all do impressive work, all in support of Roberts. Even when the film is ultimately about the evils of billionaires and how people become billionaires without being the smartest, greediest, most conniving person in the room, it never strays far from Roberts and her magnetic aura. Duplicity is one like all of Tony Gilroy’s work; the best kind of star vehicle, sharp as a razor and just as cutting.
The Transfer
The all-new HDR/Dolby Vision Master – From a 4K Scan of the 35mm Original Camera Negative (Approved by Director Tony Gilroy) is another stunner. The glossy studio-produced film’s look is matched by its new 4K UHD disc. The 35mm widescreen shot by cinematographer Robert Elswit in and around New York City looks magnificent in 4K. There isn’t a scratch or issue throughout the runtime of the film. The Dolby Vision/HDR mastering gives depth to the black levels and contrast that just can’t be accomplished with SDR mastering, allowing for a much more detailed, luminous, subtle image. Another big win for Kino Lorber.
The Extras
They include the following;
DISC 1 (4KUHD):
- Audio Commentary by Writer/Director Tony Gilroy and Editor/Co-Producer John Gilroy
DISC 2 (BLU-RAY):
- Audio Commentary by Writer/Director Tony Gilroy and Editor/Co-Producer John Gilroy
- Criminal Defense: Interview with Actor Dan Daily
- Theatrical Trailer
The archival Audio Commentary by Writer/Director Tony Gilroy and Editor/Co-Producer John Gilroy begins with an introduction and their respective credits on the film before diving into the opening set in Dubai (which was filmed in the Bahamas) and how this opening was never meant for the opening, and the original opening as written. Some of the details include how this film was originally written for Steven Spielberg (David Fincher was also attached at one point as well) to direct; the camera tests done for the credit sequences; Tony’s preference using video/Previs instead of storyboard and why; working with Julia Roberts and the added work shooting on location like New York City with a star of her caliber; the origins and development of the screenplay first with Steven Soderberg; how a mid-film party they had on Michael Clayton gave him the chance to meet Clive Owen; what’s it like working with Tom Wilkinson on this and Michael Clayton; shooting on location in Rome; the various locations used and why certain ones were used – and his love of location scouting; a larger discussion of the various cast and crew they worked with on the film; a larger discussion of how they shaped scenes in editing/post-production and how they compared to the production draft they begin with; and much more.
Criminal Defense: Starring Dan Daily (9:43) – in this all-new interview with the actor begins with how he got found acting and compares finding his character as mounting a criminal defense. Daily goes on to discuss the set camaraderie, which was set by Tony Gilroy; the first day on set; the difficulty of pragmatic actions like “walking and talking”; working with Paul Giamatti; and more.
Rounding out the special features are trailers for Duplicity (2:29); Inside Man (2:14); I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead (2:20); In Bruges (2:30); Ronin (2:29); Eastern Promises (2:22);
The Final Thought
Kino gives us another stellar 4K UHD upgrade with Duplicity. Highest Possible Recommendations!!