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Sex sells, right? Just take one look at the evening news or the weekly tabloids, and you’ll know that nothing sells a magazine (or gets people interested in politics) quite like a good sex scandal. If that’s the case, then, after seeing the steamy trailers for Deception, people should flock to the theaters.
Deception stars Ewan McGregor as Jonathan McQuarry, a mild-mannered accountant who handles corporate audits. Late one night, he meets Wyatt Bose (Hugh Jackman), a smooth-talking lawyer. The two kick back, split a joint, and instantly become friends.
After lunch one day, Jonathan discovers that he and Wyatt have accidentally switched phones. Since Wyatt just left the country on business, he tells Jonathan to use the phone until they can trade back. But then Jonathan starts getting some strange calls—and, before long, he’s involved in an anonymous sex club for busy executives.
But then he meets her (Michelle Williams). He’s seen her before—on a subway platform—and he hasn’t been able to get her out of his mind. So when she shows up in his hotel room one night, he breaks the rules—by talking to her. But the fun doesn’t last—and he soon finds that he’s the prime suspect in her disappearance.
Though Deception seems to be selling itself as some kind of kinky sex thriller, the whole “list” thing is just one small part of the movie. In fact, you might say that it’s all just a part of the deception. So if that’s what you’re looking for, you’ll be disappointed.
But, then again, if you’re looking for any kind of thriller, you’ll be pretty disappointed by Deception—because it’s not especially thrilling. In fact, it’s all pretty transparent. Almost as soon as it starts, you know where it’s going—and no matter how many twists and turns it tries to throw your way, nothing’s really surprising.
Though you might expect director Marcel Langenegger to offer some subtle hints along the way, you don’t really expect him to shove them in your face and shake them around a bit—but that’s just what he does. In fact, Langenegger could have just as well paused the action from time to time to stand in front of the camera with a megaphone, yelling, “HEY! THIS GUY’S SHADY!” or “THE PIPE IS LEAKING! DON’T FORGET THAT!” It seems he thought the audience would be too stupid to take a hint—so he just decided to make everything painfully obvious.
It’s not just the story that’s obvious, though. It’s also the characters, who are little more than caricatures. Jonathan is a clueless, socially-awkward nerd with a bad hairdo and glasses. He also wears boring sweaters. Wyatt, meanwhile, is slicked-back and cool, and he’s always laughing and grinning like some cheesy used car salesman.
Although the movie’s called Deception, the only really deceptive thing about it is the title—and perhaps the marketing campaign. Everything else is exactly what you think it is. And if it’s not quite obvious enough, don’t worry—just wait a few minutes, and Langenegger will come along with his megaphone and clear it up.
Unless you like your thrillers spoon-fed to you, don’t bother with Deception.
