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SPRING INTO SCHEMING
NEWS OF ATHENS’ CINEMA SCENE
DUPLICITY (PG-13) After months of award-
winning heavy overcoats, who isn't ready to
strip down to a sundress and a seersucker
suit? Duplicity is a perfect movie for spring.
Constructed from lightweight yet stylish mate
rial, the spy comedy fits perfectly, hugging all
the right curves yet loose where it should be.
Oscar-nominated writer-director Tony Gilroy
leaves the frigid, corporate climes of Best-
Picture-nominee Michael Clayton for the tropi
cal heat of mod affairs,
tossing in a dash of
rapid-fire repartee a la
The Thin Man. Rather
than embarrassing its
stylistic predecessors,
Duplicity works on
every level.
CIA agent Claire
Stenwick (Julia
Roberts) and MI-6
operative Ray Koval
(Clive Owen) first met
in Dubai in 2003. He
liked her. She seduced,
drugged and robbed
him of government secrets. Cut to five years
later, Claire and Ray meet again in New York
while working for rival corporations, Burkett
and Randle and Equikrom, run by two spitting,
hissing CEOs, Howard Tully (Tom Wilkinson)
and Dick Garsik (Paul Giamatti).
B and R has an industry-revolutionizing
new product on the way, and Garsik wants
it. He wants it so much he's hired freelance
corporate spies, led by Duke (Denis O'Hare).
Claire and Ray both work for Equikrom and
Duke, but they're really working for them
selves. They met again three years earlier in
Rome and worked out a scheme to make mil
lions. The B and R/Equikrom gig is merely the
fruition of the couple's years of planning. Or
is it?
Duplicity is so full of double crosses and
triple crosses that the audience will learn the
smart play is to be as
distrusting as Claire
and Ray are of each
other. Roberts shines
after her self-imposed,
cinematic exile. After
the underwhelming
International, Owen is
back on point again.
The chemistry between
the two stars is tre
mendous, and both
perform at the top of
their game.
Gilroy suffers no
sophomore slump;
he follows up his highly acclaimed directo
rial debut with a film exponentially more fun
but just as sophisticated. No one will recall
Duplicity come awards season, but for old
Hollywood entertainment clad in bespoke
modern clothing, it is worth much more than
its light weight in gold.
Drew Wheeler
Julia Roberts and Clive Owen
WHAT BECAME OF THE BROKENHEARTED?
TWO LOVERS (R) Life has not been kind to
Leonard Kraditor. His body's chemical makeup
and a nasty breakup have conspired to turn
him into a suicidal, bipolar 30-something who
lives with his parents. Even when life tries to
make it up to Leonard, it does so with a mani
acal twist. Sandra (Vinessa Shaw), the daugh
ter of his father's potential business partner,
is actively, shyly pursu
ing the dry cleaner's
son. She's constant and
safe, two traits Leonard
needs in a girlfriend.
But Leonard has fallen
for Michelle (Gwyneth
Paltrow), his beautiful,
volatile neighbor. Needy
and selfish, she's the
worst kind of woman
for a broken man like
Leonard. Michelle is
unwilling to acknowl
edge the hurt she's
causing him because
she's unwilling to give
up his unqualified devotion, something lack
ing in her married lover, Ronald (Elias Koteas).
The entire film unfolds like a bomb—delib
erate and messy. When will Leonard explode
and who will he take with him? Will only
Leonard pay for Michelle's thoughtlessness?
What about his devoted parents, Rueben and
Ruth (Moni Moshonov and Isabella Rossellini)?
Director James Gray, who cowrote the screen
play with Ric Menello, plays his cards very
close to the vest. Is Two Lovers a thought
ful character study or is Leonard's obsession
bound for darker territory? Gray keeps the
scenes taut, not betraying his dramatic ends.
Phoenix's farcical rap career better be
a joke. His tender, believable portrayal of
Leonard makes good
on the Oscar nominee's
promise to be one of
his generation's finest
actors. It's also nice to
see the Oscar-winning
Paltrow in a serious role
again. She asks for and
receives our sympathy
for the awful Michelle.
In her own way, she's as
broken as Leonard.
A love triangle
between three broken
people. Two Lovers
never succumbs to its
own pessimism. As sad
as these people are, the film doesn't bring
the audience down with it. Maybe that lack of
empathy should be considered a fault, but ly
was grateful for the emotional distance that
allowed me to watch the film without joining
its downward spiral.
Drew Wheeler
Joaquin Phoenix and Vinessa Shaw
And Now. the News: I just finally saw Milk,
| making me officially the last person in the
developed world to do so. Another milestone:
I watching giggly, naked man-on-man smooch
ing with my mom. It was fun... then it was
| sad and made me angry. But we all knew
that before we saw the film; a friend recently
remarked on the superfluity of any film that
attempts to tell the same story as The Times of
: Harvey Milk, Rob Epstein's riveting 1984 doc
umentary, which I now have to watch again.
My friend (who is now REALLY the official last
person not to have seen Milk) was right, in a
way: as remarkable as the story and the per
formances are, director Gus Van Sant is really
just getting the word out there, and in some
thing like full-Hollywood mode. It's far beyond
competent and effective, but after his increas
ingly complex and confident experimentation
with quasi-documentary forms in Elephant.
Last Days and Paranoid Pork, I have to admit I
was hoping for something a little more inter
esting. Maybe I need to see it again.
Y Cine Turns Two: As I mentioned two weeks
ago. Cine will celebrate its second anniversary
of making Athens film fans' lives worth living
with a four-day series of special screenings.
The festivities begin Monday, Mar. 30 with
Louis Malle's 1958 proto-New Wave thriller
Elevator to the Gallows, featuring a danger
ously sexy Jeanne Moreau and shot by the
brilliant Henri Decae (look him up on IMDB).
Tuesday, Mar. 31 marks the Athens premiere of
Cartos Reygadas Silent Light, which showed
up on dozens of 10-best lists for 2008. The
film is a lyrical tale of love and longing in
a Mexican Mennonite community, with gor
geous widescreen cinematography. I can't
wait—hopefully this will warrant an extended
booking at some point. The Wednesday, Apr. 1
screening is of Our City Dreams, a documentary
by Chiara Clemente about five women art
ists working in New York City, which each has
adopted as her home. The film explores the
artists' connections to the city and the pas
sion and diversity of their work and inspira
tions. The anniversary celebration concludes
Thursday, Apr. 2 with a very welcome screen
ing of Wong Kar-Wai's sumptuous, achingly
beautiful 2000 masterpiece In the Mood for
Love. With powerful, movie-star lead perfor
mances by Maggie Cheung and Tony Leung
Chiu-Wai and exquisite production design aod
cinematography by longtime Wong collabora
tors William Chang and Christopher Doyle,
respectively, this film is the epitome of one
that should be seen on a big screen in a the
ater. Let me repeat myself: we want to have
Cin£. It's not enough just to know that and
talk about it; you have to go there and spend
your money. Think about eliminating one of
the useless "tiers" from your cable package
and using the savings to buy a membership.
Kids Rock: Fresh Look '09—the second
annual Athens International Film Festival
for Children and Youth—comes to Cine the
weekend of Mar. 28 & 29. The festival's aim is
to stimulate intellectual curiosity and aware
ness of multicultural perspectives in young
people by introducing them to age-appropriate
films from countries outside the U.S. I can't
tell you how much I applaud that goal: it does
my heart good to see people shrugging off
the pervasive assumption that American kids
are just hopelessly unreceptive to stuff like
watching a movie that hasn't been promoted
with a Happy Meal tie-in. Screenings are at
2 and 4 in the afternoon both days; looks
like there will be a shorts program Saturday
at 2 p.m. geared to anyone older than five,
then three features that are recommended for
slightly bigger kids. Full details are available
at www.athenschildrenfilmfestival.org.
One More Thing at Cine: Thursday, Mar. 26
Athens' only arthouse will host two screenings
of the feature film Where God Left His Shoes to
benefit the Athens Area Homeless Shelter.
Writer/director Salvatore Stabile's 2007 film
stars John Leguizamo as the father of a New
York City family struggling to end a period
of homelessness. With the edge of financial
solvency so clearly in view for many American
families, this is a timely subject. Also timely
is the crucial need for organizations like AAHS
to remain viable; you can help a little just by
going out to see a good film.
This Is Going to Be Rushed Again: Dr. Karim
Traore's Monday evening African film screen
ings at 7 p.m. in Room 201 of the UGA Miller
Learning Center: Dani Kouyate's Sia Mar. 30
and Cheick Oumar Sissoko's Finzan Apr. 6.
The screenings are free, open to the public,
and highly recommended. The same goes for
the ACC Library's ifilms series, Thursday
nights at 7 p.m. in the Main Library audito
rium: Pemille Rose Gronkjaer's The Monastery
Mar. 26 and Crips and Bloods: Made in America
by Stacy Peralta Apr. 2. Go to www.clarke.
public.lib.ga.us for more details.
Dave Marr film@tlagpole com
Elevator to the Sallows will screen at Cine Monday. Mar 30.
10 FLAGPOLE.COM • MARCH 25,2009