Deception (2008)

Director: Marcel Langenegger

Starring: Hugh Jackman, Ewan McGregor, Michelle Williams

An accountant is introduced to a mysterious sex club known as The List by his lawyer friend. But in this new world, he soon becomes the prime suspect in a woman’s disappearance and a multi-million dollar heist.

In order for me to express my honest feelings towards ‘Deception’ I have to do spoilers. So, if you’re planning on watching the movie and don’t want spoilers, stop reading now.

Still here? Ok, let’s do this. Hugh Jackman stars as Wyatt Bose, a handsome, confident, successful and wealthy lawyer. (or so it seems, anyway – well, he is handsome!). Ewan McGregor stars as accountant Jonathan McQuarry, who is the opposite of Wyatt – a bit of a nerd, actually, who hasn’t been with a woman in a while. This is all about to change, though, and Jonathan’s confidence is about to get a boost.

Having just met, the two men become good friends and regularly hang out together. (No, it’s not that kind of movie!) When they have lunch together, they accidentally switch phones, just as Wyatt leaves for England on business for a few weeks. When he gives Jonathan permission to use his phone, Jonathan discovers a list on the phone – anonymous members of a sex club who hook up for one night stands. Sex, lust and “intimacy without intricacy”. The only rules are never to use real names, and not to talk business. And so Jonathan embarks on a fulfilling journey of sex. Until he meets S (Michelle Williams), whom he falls in love with.

However, soon after meeting S, his life spins out of control. He becomes entangled in a multi-million dollar heist, with S’s life hanging in the balance – or so he thought.

Ok, now for the spoilers and my issues with the film. Firstly, it is way too slow moving in the beginning. It takes a whole 40 minutes before something exciting happens. I understand it was necessary to set up the characters, but it was just a tad too slow. When S shows up as Jonathan’s next one night stand, he holds off having sex with her, because “he knows her”. Uhm, well, he saw her ONCE before and they shared about two sentences. Now, after having sex with several women, he expresses his love to her – a woman who is part of a sex club and having sex every other night with other men. Oh, ok, so this is the one he’s been waiting for…. If they wanted us to root for them on grounds of a ‘romantic relationship’, then no, it’s not working.

The final act has so many conveniences, it will make your head spin. Jonathan shows up in Spain just when Wyatt needs him. After leaving the bank, Wyatt pulls out a gun – wait, so when did he have time to get a gun, since there’s no way he could have entered the bank with a gun? And then S shows up again just in time to save Jonathan’s neck. How did she know? Where did she come from all of a sudden? When the men were facing one another during conversation, surely one of them would have noticed her? But no-one does until she happens to be there the very second she is needed… pfff, seriously!

It’s rare to see Hugh Jackman in the role of an antagonist and – being the versatile actor he is – I think he did a great job. I would actually love to see him portraying a pure evil character. At least he made the movie more tolerable. Ok, I’ll admit, the whole money transfer set-up was interesting, and the unexpected turn of events made for a good mystery thriller. The script just needed a bit more work – especially the Jonathan/S characters.

‘Deception’ underperformed at the box office, only earning $17 million on a $25 million budget, and received predominantly negative ratings from critics.

Would I watch it again? No.