Tom Wilkinson

Julia Roberts, Clive Owen Shine in Tony Gilroy’s Clever ‘Duplicity’

BrianTT — Fri, 20 Mar 2009 10:05:02 -0600

Rating: 4.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Writer/director Tony Gilroy (“Michael Clayton”) uses words the same way horror movie directors use blood or action movie auteurs use bullets. His weapon of choice, witty repartee, is delivered wonderfully in the enjoyable, clever, charming “Duplicity,” starring Clive Owen, Julia Roberts, Paul Giamatti, and Tom Wilkinson.

The same whip-smart, intellectual ear for dialogue that made “Michael Clayton” such an immensely interesting film is back in “Duplicity,” a film that could definitely be called a loose sibling of Gilroy’s last. If you showed nearly anyone the two films and asked them if they were made by the same writer/director, they would probably know that they were.

Ex-CIA officer Claire Stenwick (Julia Roberts) and former MI6 agent Ray Koval (Clive Owen) are spies-turned-corporate operatives in the midst of a clandestine love affair.
Photo credit: Andrew Schwartz and Universal

Be aware that “Duplicity” is a much lighter film than “Clayton”. It’s a much less serious piece, even if Gilroy is back in the world of evil corporations and the men and women who really make them tick. “Duplicity” is a frothy, breezy, romantic mystery movie of the kind they made much more often in the days of Cary Grant and Audrey Hepburn (think “Charade”).

The reasonable replacements for Grant and Hepburn in 2008 are Clive Owen and Julia Roberts as a pair of spies who have gone from MI6 and the CIA to the much-more-dangerous world of corporate espionage.

“Duplicity” opens in Dubai in 2003 in the first meeting between the amazingly sexy CIA Agent Claire Stenwick (Julia Roberts) and man who would give James Bond a run for his money in the suave department, MI6 Agent Ray Koval (Clive Owen, finally in a role that shows off his incredible charm instead of the downtrodden characters he’s played lately). Claire seduces and drugs Koval, taking some confidential material from his hotel room.

After what will likely be the best opening credits sequence of the year featuring two of better actors in a slow-motion fight in the rain, we flash forward to the present day, as Ray has gotten a job working in the corporate espionage department of one of the biggest companies in the world, Omnikrom. The CEO of Omnikrom, Dick Garsik (Paul Giamatti), is in a constant battle with his arch-nemesis, Howard Tully (Tom Wilkinson), the CEO of Burkett & Randle.

What do Omnikrom and Burkett & Randle do? What don’t they do? It’s never clear exactly but the Halliburton-esque impression is that these companies make everything from toothpaste to nuclear weapons. And they’re always concerned about what the other one is doing.

Ex-CIA officer Claire Stenwick (Julia Roberts) and former MI6 agent Ray Koval (Clive Owen) are spies-turned-corporate operatives in the midst of a clandestine love affair.
Photo credit: Universal

The group that Ray works with (including great character actors Denis O’Hare and Kathleen Chalfant) spend every minute trying to dig into the world of Burkett & Randle. They monitor security cameras, email accounts, and have even hacked into copy machines to see exactly what their enemy is up to lately. They know that B&R has a big announcement on the horizon. They want to beat them to it.

To that end, they have a mole on the inside at B&R - Claire Stenwick. After she left the CIA, she got a job trying to stop the leaks at B&R, but is secretly working with Ray and his team. Or is she? And what of their past? “Duplicity” regularly flashes back to gorgeous locales around the world (which are great visual off-sets to the New York-set action of the bulk of the film) and the mystery within a puzzle wrapped in an enigma that is “Duplicity” doesn’t become clear until the final scene.

It’s so refreshing to experience a film that actually demands you pay attention to follow the action. Gilroy is a master at staying one step ahead of the audience - not too many that the film gets overly complex, but just enough so you’re constantly trying to play catch-up.

Ex-CIA officer Claire Stenwick (Julia Roberts) and former MI6 agent Ray Koval (Clive Owen) are spies-turned-corporate operatives in the midst of a clandestine love affair.
Photo credit: Universal

And Gilroy knows how to direct actors. Owen is incredibly charming and Roberts proves that she’s lost none of her movie star power. If anything, she gives a more subtle performance than you might expect, reining in the big smile and laugh for an intellectual sexiness that would draw in any man.

As “Duplicity” moves past the two-hour mark, Gilroy piles on at least one flashback and one big corporate speech too many. I couldn’t help but think there’s a tigther, great movie in “Duplicity” that runs about fifteen minutes shorter. What’s there works, it’s just there’s a bit too much of it and any spy will tell you that timing is everything if you want your plan to be executed to perfection.

Pacing and length issues aside, there’s so much to like about “Duplicity”. It’s that rarest of things in Hollywood - a piece of intellectual entertainment that is aimed squarely at adults. With two of our most charming actors and two of the best supporting actors speaking Tony Gilroy’s excellent dialogue, “Duplicity” won’t leave you feeling cheated.

‘Duplicity’ stars Clive Owen, Julia Roberts, Paul Giamatti, Tom Wilkinson, Denis O’Hare, and Kathleen Chalfant. It was written and directed by Tony Gilroy. It opens on March 20th, 2009. It is rated PG-13.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Bryan Singer’s ‘Valkyrie’ With Tom Cruise Mistakes Morose For Intense

BrianTT — Thu, 25 Dec 2008 09:05:00 -0700

Rating: 2.0/5.0

CHICAGO – Tom Cruise can be a powerfully vibrant actor in the right material but he’s horrendously miscast in Bryan Singer’s “Valkyrie,” a decision amplified by poor direction that drains this true story of an assassination attempt on the life of Adolf Hitler of its inherent power.

When he’s in the right material, like his great work in “Magnolia,” “Minority Report,” “Born on the Fourth of July,” and “Rainman,” Cruise can be impossible to take your eyes off. He’s a generally underrated actor who has watched his off-screen antics steal the thunder from his actual talent.

Having said that, he’s quite simply bad in “Valkyrie”. It’s arguably his worst performance. Cruise and Singer have mistaken being morose for being serious and have made a film that, consequently, ends up dull instead of intense. Cruise’s character needs to be the passionate lynchpin for one of the most infamous assassination attempts in world history, but the actor’s lack of on-screen resonance and Singer’s general weaknesses as a storyteller punch a hole in the potential of their story.

As World War II drew to a close, even officials close to Hitler knew that he was leading Germany and all of Europe down a very dangerous path. There were several attempts on his life. The most widespread and nearly effective attempt came in the summer of 1944 and was spearheaded by a recently-wounded soldier named Colonel Claus von Stauffenberg (Cruise).

Assassinating someone as protected as Hitler would take a complex scheme, one that required that von Stauffenberg rewrite an official order known as ‘Valkyrie’, the document that determined the use of the reserve army in the case of a coup. With the help of Major-General Henning von Tresckow (Kenneth Branagh), General Friedrick Olbricht (Bill Nighy), Ludwig Beck (Terence Stamp), and General Erich Fellgiebel (Eddie Izzard), von Stauffenberg put in a motion a plan that could have changed the world. In fact, if not for a last-minute location change, it probably would have.

The plot to kill Hitler involves over a dozen characters, explosives, and even a shoot-out. On paper, it should make for both a history lesson and an intense action ride for audiences around the world. On paper.

What’s most shocking about “Valkyrie” is how slow and dull the film ended up. The supporting cast alone, including the great Tom Wilkinson, Nighy, Branagh, Izzard, Stamp, and the stunning-but-wasted Carice van Houten should have been enough alone to give the movie a spark, but Singer lets them all down. The interesting supporting cast is the only reason to see “Valkyrie” and all that saves it from complete disaster.

Most damagingly, Singer and his cinematographer, Newton Thomas Sigel, shoot nearly everything in extreme, claustrophobic close-up, never giving the audience the sensation that we know exactly what’s going on and what’s at stake.

And writers Christopher McQuarrie & Nathan Alexander don’t provide nearly enough of a back story for any of their characters, as if filming a scene where von Stauffenberg writes an angry letter about Hitler and another where he’s injured in combat would be enough for us to get behind him as a lead. History makes it easy to support a lead trying to kill one of the most evil men in history, but imagine how much more effective “Valkyrie” would be if he was a fully, three-dimensional character of his very own.

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13-Image Slideshow From Valkyrie

If “Valkyrie” was just an action movie, the lack of back stories wouldn’t be a problem, but it’s not effective as a thrill ride either. Cruise and Singer take themselves way too seriously for that. Singer can’t just make a historical drama or an action adventure movie, he has to make the best of both that anyone has ever seen. It’s that dull self-seriousness that sinks “Valkyrie”. It’s ironic that a film about an attempt that had some pretty serious flaws feels like its creators made a few mistakes of their own.

‘Valkyrie’ stars Tom Cruise, Tom Wilkinson, Bill Nighy, Eddie Izzard, Kenneth Branagh, Terence Stamp, and Carice van Houten. ‘Valkyrie,’ which was written by Christopher McQuarrie & Nathan Alexander and directed by Bryan Singer, opened in Chicago on December 25, 2008.

By BRIAN TALLERICO
Content Director
HollywoodChicago.com
brian@hollywoodchicago.com

Akin to ‘Match Point,’ Woody Allen’s ‘Cassandra’s Dream’ Expressly Hitchcockian

HollywoodChicago.com — Fri, 18 Jan 2008 11:35:06 -0700

CHICAGO – Woody Allen – the most prolific American writer/director of the last quarter century – has a desire for a particular expression in this last part of his epic career.

For the “lion in winter” phase, Allen is exploring topics of morality and behavior that are directly connected to the deadly sins. “Cassandra’s Dream” – Allen’s third film in a row set in London – this time shines a light on the struggling middle class and the desperate nature of having to rely on outside wealth to compensate their lifestyle.

Ewan McGregor for “Cassandra’s Dream” on Sept. 11, 2007.
Photo credit: WireImage.com

Colin Ferrell and Ewan McGregor portray brothers Terry and Ian: blood relatives who dream of a more upscale life.

Trapped in menial jobs, they each struggle to tamper their damaging habits. Terry has a problem gambling addiction and Ian obsesses over a business deal that might bring him success.

The situation is further complicated when Ian falls in love with Kate (Sally Hawkins): a beautiful actress whose desire to move up in the world is as strong as the brother’s.

When a wealthy uncle (Tom Wilkinson) offers Terry and Ian everything they want in exchange for a “job” they must do for him, the line that is crossed changes both lives and plunges the closely bonded brothers into a moral dilemma that alters everything around them.

Woody Allen for “Cassandra’s Dream”
on Sept. 2, 2007.
Photo credit: WireImage.com

Like Allen’s previous film “Match Point” in 2005, which has a similar subject, “Cassandra’s Dream” explores the human frailties within the abject desire to be wealthy and successful. While it is the fear of losing out that propels each of the crimes in the two films, the consequences and vulnerabilities that are exposed belie a deeper loss of humanity.

Allen’s style here is expressly Hitchcockian. The tensions mounted and the ability of the narrative to focus on particular elements that end up meaning nothing (which Alfred Hitchcock called the “MacGuffin”) put this film in league with the master of suspense.

With Allen exploring deeper psychological ramifications within the moral transgressions, there is more opportunity for self-inflicted punishment.

Allen’s choice of actors gets instinctually stronger as he appears less in his own films. Ferrell is spot on as Terry and has all tics and bad habits intact. He embodies a middle-class garage mechanic in love with his loyal girlfriend and his family. He is a flawed black sleep – but a moral one – with a clear perspective on right and wrong.

Sally Hawkins is a revelation in her first major role as the actress Kate – looking ironically like a more beautiful Kate Beckinsale (if that is possible) – but with a strength in characterization that is both subtle and chilled.

The similarity to “Match Point” is the main weakness of “Cassandra’s Dream”. While there is a feeling of déjà vu in viewing both stories, there is enough understated differences to create a distinctive landscape or at the very least a strong variation on the same theme. For Woody Allen, even mental masturbation is filmmaking for someone he loves.

“Cassandra’s Dream” opened on Jan. 18, 2008.

Click here for our full “Cassandra’s Dream” image gallery!

By PATRICK McDONALD
Staff Writer
HollywoodChicago.com
pat@hollywoodchicago.com

‘Michael Clayton’ is Adult Antidote to Torrent of Monotonous Gobbledygook

HollywoodChicago.com — Fri, 05 Oct 2007 14:56:52 -0600

CHICAGO – Don’t be fooled by its formulaic, Hollywoodspeak tagline.

“The truth can be adjusted” is the “Michael Clayton” way of saying this film has rammed in a whole hell of a lot more than you might first presume and is about to blindside you with everything a picture-perfect Hollywood product should be.

George Clooney in “Michael Clayton”.
Photo courtesy of IMDb
An opulent, all-star cast as in “The Departed” sometimes yields the film of the year. At other times, the failure of that resolve can make financiers suicidal.

In the case of “Michael Clayton,” writer/director Tony Gilroy weaves the commanding George Clooney, flawlessly fanatical (and sometimes streaking) Tom Wilkinson, tautly corporate Tilda Swinton and the always-on-top-of-his-game Sydney Pollack into a film that pays its weight in gold.

Tom Wilkinson in “Michael Clayton”.
Photo courtesy of IMDb
Executive producers Clooney, Steven Soderbergh, James Holt and Anthony Minghella either have it too easy or yet again know when lead is about to be fashioned into a mountain of bullion. Clooney himself carries the show in an exquisitely intricate story that ably pulls off the art of the circular plot.

Much in the same way “Pulp Fiction” starts with the end and circles back once the middle has been teemed in, Clooney in his inextricable role as a “fixer” of all things crooked plunges you into the wildly provocative world of corporate America.

Tilda Swinton in “Michael Clayton”.
Photo courtesy of IMDb
While I only have love for the hilarity of late from “Superbad,” “Knocked Up” and the like, the gravity of “Michael Clayton” – much like this year’s “Fracture” with Anthony Hopkins – is the adult antidote to a torrent of monotonous gobbledygook devoid of poignant messaging.

A serious film with a serious plot, serious actors and an imperative statement, I thank the film gods it’s wedged into 2007 history because the year would have been lacking without it.

The fictional agrochemical company U/North and its looming calamity is at the heart of the film, which opens limited on Friday and goes wide on Oct. 12. It doesn’t take much fantasizing for U/North to smack of similiar, real-life corporate behemoths.

Sydney Pollack in “Michael Clayton”.
Photo courtesy of IMDb
While you could imagine crisis litigation going much like this through the realization of a potentially deadly byproduct at the expense of silver linings and golden executive parachutes, “Michael Clayton” importantly brings into the limelight the U.S. corporate machine while mercilessly illuminating what happens in back alleys.

Though lawyers certainly get the bad wrap of being blood-sucking money fiends, it’s less realized that in a courtroom their primary role is as a well-studied actor. It’s the side that not only tells the truth but tells the better truth that ultimately wolfs down all the cake.

“I’m the guy you buy!” isn’t just a climatic line Clooney uses to slap Swinton upside her head. It’s actually the catastrophic revelation that high-powered suits can freely and dispassionately ride that train of thinking today and only sometimes get caught along the way.

By ADAM FENDELMAN
Editor-in-Chief
HollywoodChicago.com
adam@hollywoodchicago.com