Review

Review Date: 27-April-08
Spoiler Rating: High
Juju Judgment: Juicy

Deception (2008)

Is it just me or do they make fewer pictures like "Deception" these days, date movies for mature couples where sex is embedded in twists involving attractive people with important jobs and expensive clothes? These are the movies you wanted to watch as a kid to feel sophisticated and risqué. They retain that element of fun, although like all stories built around intricate schemes they tend to peter out after stretching the limits of belief. "Deception" is no exception, but thanks to a moody atmosphere and strong cast it is an enjoyable example of its type.

The one-two punch of Hugh Jackman and Ewan McGregor was enough to get me into the theater, where I was pleased to see both actors excel. McGregor plays a New York accountant with no social life, and while we have seen this from him before — the man-child marked by innocence and the desire to be naughty — his affable persona is still a draw. This guy is great at auditing Fortune 500 companies yet incapable of showing himself a good time. As luck (?) would have it, his deficiency attracts the notice of a corporate lawyer who sets about prying him from his shell. In this role Jackman does serve up something new. He applies his abundant masculinity, so often in service of the adorable or heroic, to embodying the alpha male, the man's man, the epitome of what the accountant regrets he is not. All flashing teeth and pricey cologne (you can actually smell it), he oozes self-assurance as he takes what pleasure he wants, which apparently includes having a dope as a friend. Who knew Jackman could be so repulsively magnetic? The comic baddie he played in "Scoop" did not prepare one for this. Among the movie's inevitable seductions, none is more powerful than that which his wolf unleashes on McGregor's quivering lamb.

When his new best pal heads to London on business, McGregor takes his place in a club of professionals who meet anonymously for sex. This is not one of the plot points that stretches the limits of belief, incidentally, although I did find myself wondering why everyone shown in bed is comely and physically fit. How is that possible since there doesn't seem to be a means of screening the club's participants? Chalk it up to Hollywood's finickiness and fantasy. In any case, after getting some long overdue satisfaction, the budding protégé falls hard for a mystery woman (Michelle Williams) with whom he shares a night of chaste romantic bonding. Just when it seems his life is really about to start, she is violently snatched from him by Mr. Suave himself, who is not in London, not anybody's friend, and not even who he said he was. The game is suddenly on.

We have seen this before too, the unsuspecting Joe having to dredge up courage and resourcefulness to save himself and a sweetheart from a practiced criminal. ("Collateral" comes to mind, a movie whose tenebrous look is echoed here to emphasize that you never know what goes on in a city at night.) "Deception" begins to drag due to this familiarity, along with some questionable incidents and a common drooling over money (its impressive quantity conveyed by one of those computer shots with tricky passwords and an upload progress bar). I held out for the denouement, however, because I wanted to see the characters get what they deserved. Particularly Jackman, who proves the movie's idea that it is easy to be swayed by a forceful personality.

Copyright © 2008 The Jujube (M. I. Kim). All rights reserved.