Deception (2008)
Before I watched it, I had no idea there is a movie called Deception and is surprisingly starred by well known actors and actress such as Ewan McGregor, Hug Jackman and Michelle Williams. It all began with conversation between me and one of my friends about under exposed but good movies and “Deception” popped out. The next day when I browsed movies link database, I saw this movie link and decided to download and watch it.
Synopsis
Jonathan McQuarry(Ewan McGregor) is an auditor in Manhattan who has a very boring and monotone life, moving from office to office, checking their books. While working late, a smooth and well-dressed man named Wyatt Bose (Hugh Jackman) chatted whim Jonathan, offered him a joint, and soon they were pals. Jonathan’s life changed dramatically when their cell phones were accidentally swapped. Jonathan answered Wyatt's phone to a series of women asking if he was free that night. Jonathan discovered it was a sex club: busy powerful people meet each other anonymously in hotels. Jonathan fell for one of the club members, whom he knew only as "S” (Michelle Williams). When she went missing, Jonathan had to faces demands involving violence and lots of money. Suddenly his life changed but in a way that he would never have expected.
What I thought about this movie
Many Hollywood movies use “Small little things that can change your life” concept as their main idea. I can say that most of the audience likes it. Because people love to see and really want to believe how coincidences can affect our lives. Disney movies are excellent examples on excellent implementation of this concept. Even though most likely we already know how the movies will end after watching the first 20 minutes of the movie, we still want to continue watching until the end because with the right pace and plot, the movies can be very entertaining and meaningful. Sadly, Deception is one of those kind of movie.
I think the best thing way to describe Deception is a lame copy of The Fight Club. You will see many scenes that remind you of The Fight Club but sadly not as classy or stylish as The Fight Club. There are many scenes that I think are little bit “off” and raise my eyebrows because they feel out of place with the plot. Like how McQuarry wanted to risk his life for a girl that he just met, S, it lacks strong background history. The plot just forces us to accept that suddenly the existence of S is much more important for McQuarry rather than his own life. If you think McQuarry is some kind of super hero like the well known Jackman’s character, The Wolverine, then I’m sorry to disappoint you; He is not.
In the acting department I do not feel any good chemistry between the actors. If we compared McQuarry-Bose with Narator-Durden from The Fight Club, then McQuarry-Bose are like real strangers. Michelle Williams’ acting is also unconvincing.
For my final words, I do believe that with better execution this movie has a lot of potential. There are many aspects that have not been explored deep enough to enrich the story lines. I think you can skip this one and watch similar movies with the same concept (i.e. The Fight Club). For curiosity sakes you may consider watching this movie but I suggest just do it if you have much free time to spent, a lot of free time.
Rating
2 Stars
Posts
