User reviews

Jonathan McQuarry (Ewan McGregor) is shy Auditor/Accountant who moves from office to office in New York City, working away by himself, crunching numbers, solving problems. His life is dull and his social life is even worse. One night while working late a smooth talking well dressed lawyer named Wyatt Bose (Hugh Jackman) introduces himself to Jonathan, Wyatt offers Jonathan a certain green cigarette and the two quickly establish a friendship and begin to socialize with one another and soon enough, Jonathan is involved in a secret sex club.

Deception is a movie where it attempts to bring back the dying erotic thriller genre and to some degree it works, the concept of this sex club amongst Manhattans elite is intriguing and watching Jonathan gain confidence in himself and doing things he thought he never would makes for quite a watch. The problem is though is that the story/screenplay is paper thin, you will know the plot twists well before they happen and you will question some of the poor decision making and silliness during the film. It's disappointing that the story is weak because the cast is strong and the film is well made. Deception looks sleek and beautiful, the cinematography by the legendary Dante Spinotte is a must see on its own, New York City has never looked any sexier than it does in this film, set decoration is also fantastic and all that is accompanied by an engrossing sound track which fits in perfectly with the film. The actors do a fine job with what they have to work with but again it makes you wonder how good this movie could have been with a better screenplay. I wouldn't quite say Deception is a must see but it's definitely a decent watch on a quiet night in.

The writing and direction here are solid, but unspectacular, and if that were all there was, the movie, too, would be unspectacular. But what drives the entire endeavor is the acting. Hugh Jackman and Ewan McGregor are among that small group of actors who never give a bad performance, and that's certainly the case here. Michelle Williams, though, is another matter altogether: she is SO good, and SO deep, and SO nuanced, that she rises above what she had been in the past and simply makes this movie her own. Hers is one of those performances (there are two scenes where she delivers voluminous messages simply by a look, without a single word) that make you wholly reevaluate the actor's skill and intelligence; at least, it did that for me: I changed my opinion of her and her abilities, and I won't be able to look at her again in the way I had before. And I like experiencing that, so I like the movie much more for that fact. If you're a Michelle Williams fan, you really HAVE to see this film.

The thing is that the plot takes too many turns, so many that the movie ties itself in knots and must resort to a lot of silliness to develop a finale and get out of the whole mess. The early moments are quite involving, showing the nerd-player friendship taking to something scary. Nevertheless, in spite of the good beginning, I figure the two leads have never the chemistry that would explain why they got drawn to one - another, so moments where the viewer would say "OK, everything seems to work" are very rare. The story gets then ridiculous in the end due to many plot twist that poop a film otherwise decent. There's also a cameo of Charlotte Rampling.

Its not perfect by no means, the script has much to be desired and at times the acting was unconvincing. But when I went into the Cinema I wasn't expecting anything mind-blowing, in fact I wasn't expecting anything at all. Surprisingly I didn't seam to find the movie overly predictable, however at times its dramatically far fetched. Notably the complete stupidity of a shooting occurring in broad day light in a busy European city going unnoticed. All this being said, the movie is entertaining. I wasn't at any moment particularly board with its rather slow beginning moving on to a fast paces final hour. Surprisingly Ewan McGregor seamed to portray the role fairly well with the exception of a few noticeable accent slips. Michelle Williams on the other hand has much to be desired. In no way am I suggesting she's a great actress but I was surprised at how unconvincingly she portrays a rather simple role. Its definitely a mixed bag, where on one hand its very engaging and on the other it has obvious flaws. I recommend it, you'll be thoroughly entertained but try not going in the theatre expecting to much.

Jonathan McQuarry, is an accountant who strikes up a friendship with a lawyer called Wyatt Bose. After accidentally swapping phones, McQuarry starts getting calls from women who are part of a group of people who meet purely for casual sexual encounters. During one of these, McQuarry meets a blonde woman whom he becomes close to. When he's attacked and she disappears, he discovers more going on than he realized....

From the above plot description some people can figure out where the story is heading. I for one did. It's a sad fact that the script written by Mark Bomback holds no surprises at all. It also doesn't help that there are plot holes that aren't explained or dealt with. The direction by Marcel Langenegger is okay, but he doesn't add any tension into the movie.

What does save the movie are the three main performances. Michelle Williams is suitably enigmatic as the girl involved, Hugh Jackman as Wyatt Bose brings charm and charisma to the part, and Ewan McGregor as Jonathan McQuarry convinces as the straight, lonely accountant seduced into the events played out.

However the performances alone can't save the movie from being a disappointing, predictable thriller.

DECEPTION (2008) is one of those films that fares better after the brouhaha surrounding its release has dies down: catching for free on television probably adds to the positive response if the viewer has never even heard of the film! So, in that vein, DECEPTION is a smooth thriller populated by a fine cast of actors who manage to keep the audience with them as the various aspects of this maze of a film at first confuse and then satisfy. Writer Mark Bomback impresses and director Marcel Langenegger shows promise, but it is the work of the three main characters, with some VERY strong support form fine actors in cameo roles, that makes this thriller tick.

Jonathan McQuarry (Ewan McGregor) is an accountant whose world needs to be precisely organized - and boring - and excludes any form of diversion or unexpected excitement. Until handsome and debonair 'lawyer' Wyatt Bose (Hugh Jackman) appears on the scene. The two strike up a strange 'guy-thing' relationship: Bose introduces McQuarry to tokes and women and then accidentally exchanges cellphones with the spaced out McQuarry. Probably for the first time in his life McQuarry notices a young lady (Michelle Williams) in the subway and without an exchange of more than a few words of direction he becomes obsessed with her. Meanwhile Bose is off to London, leaving McQuarry to discover the cellphone connection to a sex club: call a number, ask if they are busy, meet them, and have a wholly anonymous liaison - following the strict rules of the club. McQuarry responds to some of these calls and discovers a world that includes such beauties as Charlotte Rampling, Natasha Henstridge, Paz de la Huerta, Maggie Q...and incidentally, 'S' - the moniker assumed by Michelle Williams. McQuarry and 'S' connect on a higher level and it is at this point that Bose returns and the deceptive scheme for 'altering auditor books' to shift millions to Bose is presented to McQuarry as the only way he will see 'S' again. From then on nothing is as it seems, entanglements become knots, bad things happen, and the only saving grace is the manner the film ends just shy of the happy-wappy manner....until the final frames betray the taste of the movie.

DECEPTION is not a great film, but it is a good diversion as a thriller that keeps you thinking. McGregor, Jackman, Williams et al (especially a cameo detective performance by Lisa Gay Hamilton) give fine performances - and that alone is refreshing enough to stay with the movie to the end.

Grady Harp

This was okay, I was expecting it to better though with Ewan McGregor, Hugh Jackman and Michelle Williams attached but it just fell kinda flat especially as an "erotic thriller". I will say it didn't ever go where I thought it going to, the mystery aspect was unique in that respect.

Ewan McGregor plays a nerdy shy accountant here who is introduced to a secretive sex club known as "The List" when he mistakenly swaps phones with his smooth talking lawyer friend Hugh Jackman. "Are you free tonight?" is how it all starts, Jonathan soon falls for one of the members and then becomes the prime suspect in her disappearance as well as a multi-million dollar heist.

Jackman and McGregor had pretty good chemistry together, I like both these actors so they were an easy sell and it was interesting how they managed to look so alike later on. Michelle Williams is super talented but she's wasted here in a dull, fluffy role that left zero impression.

One big issue I had was with the two cases containing 10 million dollars that are just left in the park. Really! that's insane besides the fact that "he" needs the money no one would just leave 10 million dollars and walk away. 2/15/16

Two things to say about this film.

Firstly, what an astoundingly rubbish title for a movie. "Deception"??? Oh, come on. Can you think of a more non-committal, less interesting, less imaginative title for a movie? I can't. All thrillers are about deception, of one kind or another.

"Deception" originally went into production under the title "The List". Hmm... Well... OK. I admit it. That title is also pretty bad. Then, "Deception" was going to be called "The Tourist". Now, I kind of like that. Sounds art house and kind of strange. Conjures up images of an observer, an outsider. Somebody not in the loop. In fact, pretty much the character that Ewan McGregor plays.

Secondly, what a completely rubbish movie! OK, maybe not completely rubbish. Just mostly rubbish.

"Deception" is a good 20 minutes too long. After a while it just seems to go on and on. The climax is misjudged and mistimed. The sex is typical Movies 24 soft core erotica, or maybe a Friday night Channel 5 movie from the early Noughties. You know the kind of thing. Soft focus humping to a soundtrack of screaming saxophone driven jazz. (Mind you don't trip over the cliché, there chief!) Also, every plot twist in "Deception" is signposted way in advance. If you don't get at least one of the major plot twists then, frankly, you really should give up watching movies. Pretty lame, pretty dull, pretty bad movie.

I said 'mostly rubbish', so some of it must have been good. Yes?

I did like the film's chilly, European ambiance. I liked the idea of powerful people, too isolated and too busy to develop human relationships. I liked Hugh Jackman's well dressed and cold instigator, Ewan McGregor's lonely accountant and Michelle Williams' bruised vulnerability. I thought all three leads made the most of their underwritten roles, but sadly it was not enough.

There is plenty of space in this world for a good, sexualised thriller (see the original "Basic Instinct"), but sadly "Deception" was nothing like a good sexualised thriller.

This movie is supposed to be a thriller, but is unfortunately quite short of "thrills".

My biggest complaint would be the movie's pace - it is very slow, and at times quite boring.

There are far too many implausabilities and plot holes, but even if you suspend your disbelief and just accept the story being told, it's still not a very good movie.

The script just isn't very good.

This is by no means the worst movie ever, however if you're looking for a GOOD thriller, I would not recommend this movie as one.

It's a shame really, because Hugh needs another good movie to boost his career. His last few have not been critical or box office smash hits (save the X-Men franchise), and I'm starting to seriously doubt his ability to pick good scripts. Hopefully "Australia" will turn his sadly not- so-good streak around.

Going into this I had fair warning as to what it was about. The name guarantees as much. That said my interest raised as each chapter unfolded. Knowing how the genre is, working out the inevitable twists and curve balls ensued. That is part of the experience. So is the outlandish nature of plot, and I don't know a soul who thought 'Body Double' was based on anything remotely possible, but they still enjoyed it. This film has something different about it. A subtle expression that grows into an intriguing smile.

Director Marcel Langenegger worked with writer, Mark Bomback, to make the film work for both their tastes and sensibilities. Their collaboration is for the good of the project. He also brought in Dante Spinotti, a fine Director of Photography. He was largely responsible for the look of the Chinatown sequence and it was my favorite sequence of events.

I wanted to see 'Deception' on the strength of Hugh Jackman and Ewan McGregor's involvement with the film. Both are extraordinarily fine actors and I could not imagine either appearing in anything sub-par. They took on assignments that cast them in a different light than most are used to viewing them in.

Mr. Jackman dives into his role with the same gusto he has become famous for. I feel that few actors can match his range. His 'Wolverine' is much more than a raging mutant. Jackman squarely lifted the 'X-Men' gambit to his shoulders and skyrocketed into mega-franchise orbit. He also has history on Broadway and lit the boards afire in 'The Boy From Oz'. His turn as 'Van Helsing' the great vampire hunter sees Hugh in the action-adventure region and earning high praise.

Mr. McGregor plays an accountant who goes through his daily paces as one of the army of eternal extras who drift through the scenes of New York's rich, powerful, and flamboyant theater of the absurd. McGregor's skill is on display as a timid, almost apologetic excuse of a being that I would have loved to seen introduced ala 'Twilight Zone' by Rod Serling. His character certainly passes through it.

What gives 'Deception' its edge is an outstanding performance by Michelle Williams. Her interaction with both stars is intense, but in particular, with McGregor she is magical. Ms. Williams says more with a glance than words could express. Each scene finds her generously sprinkling talent in all directions. Oh, she does indeed speak, and I savored every word.

A quick nod to Charlotte Rampling who I might well have wrote the above paragraph for had she been given more screen time. She makes ample use of what time she does receive. Ms. Rampling has a rather brutal, but matter-of-fact way of taking over a scene. Her dominance is simply never in question.

The sliding scale for a psychological thriller begins with 'Hitchcock brilliant' and works its way down from there. 'Deception' is a bit better than the normal fair for this genre. That is due to the fine performances.

The plot in this movie is somewhat obvious and very slow at times but not every movie has to rely solely on excitement and plot. This is one of those movies. Not only does McGregor play the shy guy role perfectly, the city shots provide the perfect backdrop for the entire movie (although the ending kind of ruined the setting). Another aspect of this movie that I liked was the protagonist antagonist conflict. Unlike most movies here the villain isn't the unstoppable stay-out-of-his-way-or-else villain. During the whole movie you're never certain who is going to win in the end. This helps keep things a little less predictable.

If your only judge of a good movie is the quality of the story and the flow of the plot you won't like this movie. But if you can appreciate great shots, great setting, and a pretty decent love story, this movie has what you need.

It was a great plot but I wasn't surprised by the "great" twist at the end. It was very predictable. I felt like I've seen this movie in 100 different versions. Though, I can't tell if it is very predictable or if I have seen way too many movies. I get the feeling it's the latter.

Assuming I have seen too many movies, this movie was great! I liked the actors and I don't think you are supposed to really get what's going on or what the ending is supposed to be. There is a big twist at the end that left some of my friends shocked. So, see this movie if you want a mystery type of thriller…and if you don't watch a lot of movies.

Let me know if you thought the ending was obvious.

This is a reasonably slick looking movie that falls flat on it's stupid face, as the movie starts it seems to hold promise, we obviously know there's a deception of some kind going on, but it's not quite clear what kind of setup it will be. By the time you see the end scene you will want to take whatever media the movie is on and smash it to bits for being so incredibly and utterly, ridiculously, pathetically STUPID.

Whoever wrote this script was borrowing heavily from a MUCH better movie. SKIP this movie, go watch the movie it ripped off:

The Spanish Prisoner.

PLOT: a charismatic new friend introduces a bored/boring accountant to some women that would normally be out of his league, it all seems to good to be true, then comes the gotchya. Unfortunately you will see it coming a mile away, and the end of the movie is so stupid, and so terrible you will really regret watching this dog. If they cut this movie in half and decided to re-shoot it with a believable ending, it might have been a 5, but this movie is a solid 1 because of the low IQ of the plot.

The Spanish Prisoner with Steve Martin is a thousand times better than this stupid dog, that ripped of that script and added some scantily clad women as window dressing and a completely unrealistic "love" interest.

A very well done thriller, that has it all, it's very sexy, and it keeps you glued to your seat with excitement, cause it has a great plot with so many twists, you'll keep wondering who has who right where they want them. Hugh Jackman and Ewan Mcgregor give commendable performances, so does Michelle Williams. But the problem here is the story falls short when it comes to being original. It seems to borrow from other thrillers. I won't say what they are you'll half to see the movie to find out. But being original seems to be not so easy anymore. But still a good thriller none the less. I was hooked when the story really picked, and got suspenseful, and you could really feel the tension of what happens next. I'm telling you viewers Deception will deliver.

I want to apologize for this short review, but I am time deprived.) 1. How did Michelle Williams smuggle a gun on her flight to Spain (airplane security has never been stricter) or how did she get the gun once in Spain?

2. How did Hugh Jackman con so many people to get to his position? (Sure, there are some gullible people, but he charmed everyone.)

3. Why would Evan McGregor forgive Michelle Williams after she basically did her best to ruin his life? Also, she must have known that Hugh Jackman killed the other sex club lady as well as the janitor at McGregor's apartment yet McGregor took her back.

4. Most significantly, in Spain Jackman assumed McGregor's identity and McGregor then assumed the false name that Jackman used. McGregor also co-signed with that signature on the large withdrawal note at the Spanish bank. That would implicate him in the murder of Jackman that was committed by Michelle Williams. The Spanish police would investigate the murder and the American police would also investigate once the weekend ended and the transaction was recorded in the American bank.

McGregor and Williams would then be arrested at the airport either in Spain or in the USA. I found the over-the-top ending to be much too difficult to swallow.

Ewan McGregor never convinces as a meek accountant (who actually admits to sleeping with only four women in his entire life!) whose cell-phone is switched with that of a swinging New York City lawyer (Hugh Jackman, also none-too-convincing with a hack American accent). The accountant allows himself to be submerged in the high toned-yet-seamy lifestyle of the lawyer until he's set up to be the fall-guy in a crime. Continually disappointing, derivative, unimaginative thriller filmed in washed-out winter-blues and grays, crippled by an endlessly-protracted finale. With a seemingly large budget and talented actors in the cast (including Charlotte Rampling--still beautiful in her later years), blame for the picture's failure must fall on Mark Bomback's ridiculous screenplay, which could have been penned by any student just graduating film school. *1/2 from ****