Film Critics: AO SCOTT
Time: March 20, 2009
"The New York Times" film
review "Inside and Out": This title refers to the two sides of things, but as the second of director Tony Gilroy (Tony Gilroy) A script creation and director work, the film itself has more layers and details. The film tells the story of a pair of lovers in chronological order. The plot and style of each story are very similar. The protagonists are played by Julia Roberts and Clive Owen, who vividly interpret a satirical story of a battle between big consortiums. No matter how you describe it, "different appearances" can be regarded as a pleasing work. There has not been such a refined, elegant, and comfortable movie for a long time.
The film’s distinctive style is a trapeze-style spy film. The story takes place in the urban landscapes of London, New York, Dubai and Rome. Since the end of the Cold War, I have never seen such a film filled with complex espionage activities. It makes it difficult for people to guess what the identity of each person in the middle comes from. It is true that even though in the James Bond film series, in the marginal political environment of the United States and the Soviet Union, 007 did not forget to reveal the code and name of the action to the audience in a joke between his lips and teeth. Of course, in the geopolitical chess game, Bond faced bad guys 10,000 times worse than the KGB. At that time it was evenly matched - two superpowers, heavily armed, and a dirty and gloomy shadow behind those clever and cunning actions - made a classic interpretation of the spy game, just like John Le Card The same is true of John le Carré's novel. However, mainstream movies and novels pay too much attention to symmetry and power centers, and lose some interesting details and the multiple complexities of the morality of the characters.
In Mr. Tony Gilroy's script, the previous three "The Bourne" series are all original works, and in this movie, he also tried to be the actor Robert Ludlum (Robert Ludlum) The scene of the airport opening was elaborately prepared and created a mystery. "Differences between the outside and the outside" is about a war without gunpowder between two super business empires. Burkett & Randle and Equikrom launched a series of ruthless agency battles, psychological warfare, counterintelligence and false intelligence between the two companies. Compete with each other. Although the businesses of the two companies are only shampoos, diapers and moisturizers (or facial cleansers and other lotions-the difference between these things is very obvious), no one will treat money as a trifle.
The only physical violence in the film, and the only farce in this tight plot, appeared in the front part. The first two presidents of two large companies’ special planes were fighting each other in the pouring rain, and the vice presidents and senior executives behind them were nervous. Watching two people. Here, the two people fist together to remove the sound at a slow-motion playback speed. I can sit here and imagine two real-world CEOs replacing the actors Paul and Tom, making these two industry leaders. The character stayed on for two hours without getting bored at all. Even though the rest of the film is a failure, the violent scene alone is worth it.
The good news is that the whole movie is pleasing. The story of the battle between Burkett & Randle and Equikrom is more or less just a diversion stunt, in order to provoke another secret struggle. If the battle between the two forces in the film attracted you, then undoubtedly what you are watching is a very excellent romantic comedy in the film studio era. The fist between words and the fist and the final sweet. The ending of kissing the group members. I persuade you to look back at the golden age of Catherine Hepburn and Gary Grant, those witty and funny conversations, the emotions and battles that are hidden in the hearts of the characters, not like Julia Roberts and Clive Owen. In this way, it has long been revealed in the film.
Unlike in director Mike Nicholson's "Stealing the Heart", the two people obviously stayed in the closed and melancholic small room for too long. Here, when they collided with each other while sipping red wine during the American National Day barbecue party in the Middle East, a sensual desire was suddenly ignited on the two of them.
"Are you always like this?" she asked, habitually answering this way after being struck up, as if to recite a motto.
"No," he said frankly. "I have
a fashion dress like this, but this time is completely different." In this way, he succeeded in seducing her - or, being seduced by her, when she was standing bored in the garden in a floral dress, he fell into it. A sweet trap. She - calling herself "Claire", God knows if this is her real name, she is a CIA; he - we call him "Rui", is a member of MI6. Obviously they belong to different gangs, but that is just a trivial detail, not what the movie cares about.
Claire's first betrayal was to clarify his situation, his career and his sexual interests. As a result, he was destroyed, humiliated, played in the palm of his hand, and completely defeated. What followed, seemed to be his revenge, perhaps her confession or another performance. After all, he was so stupid the first time.
Five years later, Claire and Rui respectively retired from government work and became involved in the battle between the two companies. Some flashbacks can show the traces of the two working together, and also bring the audience into the present (through London, New York and Cleveland), making people wonder who is lying to whom this time. Even two people are wondering whether their loyalty based on desire, greed, and everything is really true and upright.
Mr. Owen was dressed in glamorous clothes from start to finish, sexy beyond imagination, sipped some champagne, and looked at Ms. Roberts eagerly, even though the latter looked more like a natural hunter. This film is the first protagonist of Ms. Roberts after her comeback. It can almost be said that she completely abandoned the frivolous, American sweetheart style of her previous roles, except for deliberate appearance for a certain purpose. The curve of the figure is more obvious, the eyes are tired, and the voice shows impatience. Indeed, at the age of 41, she has entered the heyday of a mature actress.
The bet on one of Mr. Tony Gilroy's most innovative plots-the "inconsistency" between the outside and the inside-makes the story on and off stage almost completely reversible. This acrimonious and sexy comedy is like a mask covering a cunning story full of tricks, and vice versa. Just when you are impatient with the two leading actors, the supporting actors' positive interpretation of Mr. Tony Gilroy's script makes the dialogue in the film extremely ironic and appreciative.
Actors Mr. Giamatti and Mr. Wilkinson’s excellent supporting roles show the arrogance of the two different styles of the company to the fullest, and their respective subordinates are even more ugly. They perform various vanity fairs of sloppy beards, treachery, arrogance and incompetence. , To strengthen the film’s sense of comedy and suspense.
What is the ending of the movie? Following a series of unexpected events, or you have always been skeptical of similar events. But the answer really lies in how you view the whole movie: about love or rights; cynical farce or the secret test of morality and behavior in the context of globalization; cat and mouse game or dog biting dog. In short, no one can easily make a judgment before the last second.
View more about Duplicity reviews
