Tepid Con Job Spoils Sexual Intrigue in ‘Deception’ With Ewan McGregor

CHICAGO – Despite its timid title, “Deception” has all the right ingredients for a decent tale of mystery: a strong premise, sound acting and the famous femme fatale. It even starts with a promising conviction: How does a background player in life deal with initiation into a secret society?

The real mystery is why this strong beginning led to a such weak and conventional conclusion. Ewan McGregor portrays Jonathan McQuarry: a mousy accountant who specializes in corporate audit assignments. His life is long hours, ever-changing clients and little social reward.

Read Patrick McDonald’s full review of “Deception” in our reviews section. View our full “Deception” image gallery.

The List is a sex club that allows anonymous coupling with no strings attached. It’s used by power brokers who presumably have no time for relationship entanglements.

McQuarry is let in on The List when he accidentally switches phones with Bose and the encounters start ringing him up. One such encounter – the enigmatic “S” (Michelle Williams) – gets coerced into further meetings by McQuarry despite the rules against fraternization between members on The List.

Their bonding leads to a closer relationship that triggers several strange occurrences involving kidnapping, blackmail and McQuarry’s knowledge of corporate accounts.

Michelle Williams (left) and Ewan McGregor in “Deception”. Photo credit: IMDb

Ewan McGregor (left) and Maggie Q in “Deception”. Photo credit: IMDb

Read Patrick McDonald’s full “Deception” review.