Title: Deception
Director: Marcel Langenegger
Studio: 20th Century Fox
Principle Actors: Hugh Jackman, Ewan McGregor, Michelle Williams
Length: 1 hour and 48 minutes
Release Date: April 25th, 2008 (in theaters) 

Reviewed by Rosemary Newton (Vancouver Correspondent - Canada) 

2 Stars

It's never a particularly good sign when you arrive at the movie theater and discover that you and your companion are only two in the audience; which is precisely what happened when my boyfriend and I went to watch Deception. Granted, it was a Wednesday evening, and, from the limited choice of theaters actually playing Deception (Silvercity metropolis and the Paramount downtown; two of Vancouver's biggest theaters, have already stopped playing the film), we seemed to have chosen a particularly slow one. Nonetheless, for a movie that was recently released and boasts several A-list actors, the eerily empty cinema seemed a little odd. After watching the movie, however, our desolate surroundings began to make a little bit more sense.  

Ewan McGregor stars as Jonathan McQuarry, a quiet, meek accountant who watches, as he describes "life literally passing him by" from the windowed walls of the high rises he works in. He moves from office to office completing tasks for his accounting company; leaving little impression on his surroundings or co-workers. This all changes one late work night when the charismatic lawyer Wyatt Bose, played by a snappy dressed Hugh Jackman, approaches him and chats Jonathan up. This first interaction plays out like a "just say no to drugs" campaign from the 90's; Wyatt the "cool kid," offers Jonathan "the geek," a joint. After slight hesitation and a few beads of sweat on his brow, Jonathan folds under the peer pressure of Wyatt's Armani suit and charming grin. This results in a slightly embarrassing scene consisting of McGregor and Jackman laughing erratically (in slow motion) like teenage stoners.  

This simple interaction leads to friendship (Jonathan is an eager side kick) and soon, the once quiet and unassuming accountant is gladly seduced by Wyatt's high rolling life of pretty girls, swanky night clubs and pent house apartments. Soon, Wyatt introduces Jonathan to "The List", a high class sex club consisting of anonymous and good looking professionals. After a few awkwardly staged sex scenes with fellow sex club participants, Jonathan meets Michelle Williams who is a beautiful and intriguing women refusing to disclose her name. After a few meetings Jonathan feels like a changed man, and begins to fall madly in love. This is when things begin to go downhill for our protagonist. Jonathan's life soon begins to crumble and he finds himself in the center of a devious plot involving murder, theft, and kidnapping.

Deception is at first interesting, and in theory, could be a dark and compelling erotic thriller. The movie, however, somehow loses its way. By the end of the first hour, I was more than ready for it to be over. Unfortunately, it lags on for 48 more minutes, and thanks in part to overly dramatic background music, by the last half hour transforms into an increasingly ridiculous soap opera. Plot twists and turns which were obviously meant to be shocking revelations are instead predictable and more than a little silly. The dialogue is corny and continuous slow motion shots get irritating. Deception tries too hard to be deep, to its detriment; in one scene, after a shot of a sad looking Michelle Williams we are shown birds flying through the sky, which is meant to symbolize, I suppose, her desire to be free.  

Ewan McGregor is believable as Jonathan, until the conclusion (although, to be fair, everything begins to fall apart then, so it isn't really his fault). Jackman pulls off the bad guy role well, and is sinister enough to give a solid performance. He is an actor that is easy to watch (I'll admit, due in part to the fact that I have a little crush on him) who brings charisma and life into his role. Michelle Williams is interesting in her femme fatale character. She has the beauty to pull it off, and is striking. She is mysterious, although almost a little too much so, we never are really told of her true intentions or personality, which is a little frustrating. She appears sullen though most of the film, and lights up only in one scene. But again, this could just be due to the many secrets her character is hiding. There is also a police investigation thrown into things, which serves very little purpose in either plot development or entertainment.

Deception has met little critical or box office success. It is a movie very similar to Derailed (2005); the characters are almost identical (a lonely man finds solace in a mysterious women much out of his league), as is the plot (all is not as it seems; the result is extortion) and most of all, it should be good, yet someone isn't. I asked my boyfriend what he thought of the movie, to which he replied, "either a movie entertains me or it doesn't" and did it? "I dunno, kinda" was his answer.  

Deception isn't the worst movie of 2008, like some critics have suggested, it is mildly entertaining and although the plot's twists and turns aren't particularly surprising, they are somewhat engaging. Still, wait for the DVD to be released if you're curious about this movie, unless you want to feel "deceived" out of $11.