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All Movie Info
Starring:
Ewan McGregor, Hugh Jackman, Michelle Williams, Maggie Q, Wayne Chang, Joey Chanlin, Lynn Cohen, Edward Conlon, Holly Cruikshank, Pamela Fischer, Ramon Flowers, Andrew Ginsburg, Frank Girardeau, Malcolm Goodwin, Lisa Gay Hamilton, Natasha Henstridge, Emelie Jeffries, Joseph Melendez, Chandler Parker, Richard Short, Sonny Vellozzi, Brother Eden Douglas, Paul Sparks, Daisy Bates, Danny Burstein, Nadine Campeau, Aya Cash, Robert 'Toshi' Kar Yuen Chan, Javier Godino, Christine Kan, Kenneth Lee, Karolina Muller, Zoe Perry, Christina Prostano, Brian Slaten, Paul Sparks, Fady Kerko, Heland Lee
Directed By:
Marcel Langenegger
Written By:
Mark Bomback
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Deception (2008)
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Movie Review by Jarrod 
April 30th, 2008
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'Deception' is a mind-numbing mess. Here is a thriller with no thrills. Every plot twist is either obvious or just dumb. And instead of focusing on a couple of major twists that might genuinely catch the viewer by surprise, the film decides instead to throw out multiple twists, all for the sake of being complicated, to get at some imaginary self-concept of narrative depth or intelligence. David Fincher's The Game was sort of like this, but it actually kept you interested in the plight of its main character, played by Michael Douglas. That is not the case here. First of all, you have to buy Ewan MacGregor as shy and nerdy accountant, Jonathan McQuarry, which is not really possible after seeing him in Velvet Goldmine and especially Young Adam. And he was also Obi-Wan Kenobi. This is just one of many things in the movie that is not even remotely credible.
Hugh Jackman is Wyatt Bose, the suave attorney who befriends Jonathan and takes him to a secret high-class sex club, introducing him to an underground world of illicit sexual fantasy. However, the moment Bose walks onscreen, you know he is not who he says he is (maybe because it is suggested to you by the title). So, when the film finally decides to reveal that Wyatt is actually not who he said he was, the audience has already figured this out well in advance. That is a good way to sum up the experience as a whole. Jonathan picks up Wyatt's cell phone by accident (of course, it really isn't an accident), and starts getting calls from mysterious women asking for anonymous intercourse. As if he is going to decline their offer, even after he tries to explain to them that he is not really the guy who was supposed to answer the phone, but he DID answer the phone, so therefore he must the guy they are looking for. So, yeah, Jonathan ends up banging some hot chicks from the club (among the patrons are Charlotte Rampling and Maggie Q). He falls in love with one of them, the enigmatic S (Michelle Williams), and this violates the rules.
It is a colossal waste of time and talent. At the very least, it looks incredible, thanks to cinematographer Dante Spinotti, who beautifully captures the splendid skylines of New York, and it also dives into the city's seedy underbelly, which is also visually alluring. The sex scenes are lacking. The characters are hollow. Jackman is never menacing or sinister; MacGregor looks like a dork, but they are surrounded by several gorgeous female co-stars, notably Williams, who I don't think, has ever looked so beautiful.
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