Duplicity

Duplicity is a 2009 American film written and directed by Tony Gilroy, and starring Julia Roberts and Clive Owen. The film was released on March 20, 2009.

The plot of the film follows Ray Koval, an MI 6 agent, and Claire Stenwick, a CIA operative who cooperate in a con poised to undercut a company who has discovered a cure for baldness and sell the formula, running off with the money themselves.

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Tropes associated with this work:

• All That Glitters: Subverted.
• Anachronic Order: We jump from how Ray and Claire first met to the present day, and then back to the other times they've met, and so on.
• Badass in a Nice Suit - Ray and Claire.
• The Chessmaster: Ray and Claire think they are, but in reality, it's Howard.
• Con Men Hate Guns - no celebrities were shot in the making of this picture.
• Duel of Seduction
• Foreshadowing: During the opening credits, Howard and Dick get into an argument that turns into a fight, and Howard is winning by the time the credits end; over the course of the movie, Howard ends up triumphing over Dick again in a different kind of contest.
• Gambit Pileup
• Happily Ever After: Hilariously subverted.

Ray: At least we still have each other. Claire: It really is that bad, isn't it? Ray: Kind of, yeah.

• Hey, It's That Guy!: Ray seduces Arlene Fowler.
  • Scott Templeton is Claire's co-worker.
• Insistent Terminology: It's a lotion, not a skin cream.
• Ironic Echo
• Shaggy Dog Story
• Sharp-Dressed Man - Ray, very much so.
• Spy Couple - adversarial variant.
• The Mole: Played with every which way.
• The Schlub Pub Seduction Deduction: A gender-swapped version.
• Wunza Plot
• Never Trust a Hair Tonic