Almost but not quite

Duplicity is the kind of movie I want to like. I enjoy spy and con man plot structures, many romantic comedies work for me, I like Julia Roberts, and I very much like Clive Owen. So, I entered full of hope for the film.

Two hours and a bit later, I left having had a pleasant enough time, willing to say I'd enjoyed the film, but feeling, as I have been with most movies lately, that what I'd just seen never quite fulfilled its promise. Again, I enjoyed it--but I didn't love it, didn't ever fall totally under its spell, and really wish I had.

After some thought, I believe the problem boils down to the leads. Clive Owen played his usual role, which is a cool, distant, handsome and charming fellow. Unfortunately, Julia Roberts also played her character as cool and distant--and pretty and charming, of course.

The problem is, neither of them ever closed the distance between their characters. During almost all of their most intimate moments, they were far away. Only a few times did her justly famous smile reach out--to Owen and to the audience--and then all too quickly it vanished.

The plot is clever enough, mind you, and it's clearly set up for a sequel should this one do well enough. For me to give this leading team another try, however, something in the trailer would have to convince me that their characters cared at all about one another--something Duplicity all too rarely managed to do.

Chancer

The late-night video break for the last little while has featured a 1990 British show, Chancer. Clive Owen stars in a strange, thirteen-episode first series (the BBC ran two, though the second was shorter) that zigs and zags like an old-fashioned novel of character. The less I tell you about it, the better it will be, because many of the episodes feature important revelations, so I'll leave it at this: bear with the slowness of the first few episodes, and the show will reward your time. Oh, yeah: Clive Owen is almost as charming as his character is supposed to be.

Speaking of characters, I've had a few readers ask if I would be bringing back in Slanted Jack some of the characters (other than Jon and Lobo, of course) from One Jump Ahead. In a word, no. The second book features an all new cast. So does Overthrowing Heaven.

That will change one day, but not yet.