A story about long-time lovers who happened to work as spies on opposite sides. Both of them team up, staging an elaborate con to rip off corporations and steal a valuable product.

Oh boy, this is one complex storyline laced with numerous flashbacks of the past between the two main leads: Ray Koval, an ex-MI6 agent (played by Clive Owen) and Claire Stenwick, ex-CIA agent (Julia Roberts). The story begins with the leaders of two companies, played by Tom Wilkinson and the funny man Paul Giamatti, on an airport tarmac surrounded by their entourage. The scene is set in slow-motion as the two corporate giants end up having a childish physical fight with each other. This sets the stage for the rest of the movie, filled with twists and turns, yet has a comic air to it. Essentially, "Duplicity" is about two long-time lovers armed with a whole lot of cunning, working together in a bid of corporate sabotage to receive a big payoff.

Although the movie kicked off with an interesting scene, the story itself progressed quite slowly, leaving the audience fairly clueless for long periods. That is until flashbacks come into play, explaining the elements of mystery, mostly involving the infatuation between the two leads. However, they are used quite frequently, varying anywhere between three years and a few weeks back. At first it was intriguing but as it kept having its blast-from-the-past moments, it became annoying and pointless. The story was complicated enough, but with frequent flashbacks, you kind of lose track of the story, what is now and what was then.

"Duplicity" carried a few 'suave' lines for Clive Owen that often ended up lame and cheesy. But what do you expect running a spy film with a British actor as the lead? It's all a perfect setting for a couple of tacky lines waiting to emerge. Acting wise, Julia Roberts and Clive Owen both did a great job being so passionately in love yet maintaining an air of mystery and tension with each other as things don't go as planned. They were natural and most of all, believable characters. The chemistry between those two are undeniably good.

Apart from those two, Paul Giamatti also gave a brilliant performance as one of the corporate heads at war. His character normally appears very angry and frustrated, but heck, his emotions just shine through effortlessly.

The cast were good, but sadly the story didn't deliver as well as it should. Nothing special here, but just a really messy story.