Deception (2008 film)
Encyclopedia
Deception is a 2008 drama
/thriller film, directed by Marcel Langenegger and written by Mark Bomback
. It stars Ewan McGregor
, Hugh Jackman
, and Michelle Williams
. The film was released on April 25, 2008 in the United States.
) is an auditor working out of New York with little to no social life. One night while working late in a boardroom he meets a lawyer, Wyatt Bose (Hugh Jackman
). After a long conversation, Jonathan takes the subway home where he has a brief encounter with a blond woman (Michelle Williams
) while waiting on the train. Upon returning home he notices a pipe in his bedroom is leaking and leaving a stain.
Jonathan contacts Wyatt the next day and they play tennis after work. They meet again for lunch the next day and upon leaving, Wyatt takes Jonathan's mobile phone instead of his own, forcing a trade. He mentions he will be in London on business for the next few weeks. When Jonathan realizes the phones have been switched he attempts to contact Wyatt but does not reach him. He is soon contacted by a woman (Natasha Henstridge
) who asks if he is free that night. He informs her that he is and agrees to meet her. When she arrives, they proceed directly to a hotel room upstairs and have sex. In the morning, Jonathan realizes that Wyatt must be on some type of exclusive sex club list.
When Wyatt calls the next day, he encourages Jonathan to continue his participation with other list members. Upon doing so he has an encounter with an older woman (Charlotte Rampling
) who explains more of the list's rules: the initiator pays for the room, no names are exchanged, there is no conversation and no rough play. Participants are always anonymous, although Jonathan later spots the older woman on the cover of Forbes
. He continues to participate over the next few weeks with several partners.
One night after initiating another encounter, Jonathan is surprised to find that his partner is the blond woman he met while waiting for the train. He tells her that they had met once before, and instead of having sex, they order room service and talk for hours. The woman does not say her name but Jonathan assumes her name to begin with an "S" because of an S-shaped pendant on her handbag. The next day Jonathan rejects other callers from the list but when "S" calls again they agree to meet for dinner in Chinatown
. They then proceed to a hotel where she requests some ice. When Jonathan returns to the room she is gone and there is blood on the bedsheets. Someone knocks him out from behind, but when he wakes up again the bed has been made. He contacts the police and explains to the Detective (Lisa Gay Hamilton
) that "S" is missing but that he has little to no information about her. She doubts his story and his sanity. Jonathan tries to trace Wyatt and is told that he is not known at the law firm or the apartment.
Upon returning home Jonathan is surprised to find Wyatt waiting for him and demanding that he steal $20 million from an investment firm he will begin to audit in a few days. Jonathan agrees to do so, fearing for the safety of "S". The following night at work, Jonathan receives a call asking if he was free. The woman calling is named Tina (Maggie Q
), an investment banker who once introduced Wyatt to the exclusive sex club list. She reveals that Wyatt's real name is Jamie Getz, and that they met when he was attending a private corporate event as a guest of Rudolph Holloway, an investment banker with whom Jamie Getz played tennis. Jonathan finds out through research that Jamie Getz murdered Rudolph Holloway via strangulation with tennis strings, and also did three years for insurance fraud and arson. Jonathan is later notified by the detective that a blond woman matching his earlier description was discovered dead. When he comes in to identify her, he sees that it is actually the first woman who called him, and that she was also strangled by tennis strings.
Jonathan goes on to complete a wire transfer to a bank in Spain
in his name, but secretly adds Wyatt's name as co-signer. When he returns home he notices that a picture Wyatt had sent of "S" being held captive was taken in his apartment before the pipe started leaking. He realizes that she must have been a conspirator and wisely avoids his apartment which explodes when the superintendent enters to fix the pipe.
Now in Madrid
, Wyatt impersonates Jonathan and attempts to withdraw the funds from the bank, but he is denied access because of the co-signer. Jonathan approaches Wyatt outside the bank and agrees to help him withdraw the funds if Wyatt splits it with him. Swapping identities, Jonathan and Wyatt cash in the $20 million in two $10 million suitcases. (A deleted scene reveals that Jonathan encountered a black market operator in Chinatown, who offered a variety of items, including fake passports; Jonathan presumably obtained a passport with his image in the name of Wyatt Bose and used this in his scheme to obtain half of the money). After the transaction is complete, Jonathan offers Wyatt half of his money if Wyatt tells him where "S" is. Wyatt pretends to agree and lures Jonathan to an uncrowded area where he draws a gun on Jonathan. Before he is able to shoot Jonathan, Wyatt is shot by "S" who leaves quickly. Jonathan pursues her, leaving a dying Wyatt and the money behind. He begs her to talk to him but she rather call it off, apologizing to him as she did not know Wyatt's intent to kill Jonathan. "S" gets into a cab and leaves as Jonathan watches her go.
In Madrid, Jonathan again crosses path with "S" and they exchange smiles. The film comes to a close as Jonathan walks to her and she stands waiting for him.
reported that 14% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 95 reviews – with the consensus that the film is "a middling, predictable potboiler
." Metacritic
reported the film had an average score of 32 out of 100, based on 22 reviews.
and Canada
, averaging only $1,155 per theater and ranking #10 at the box office. As of September 22, 2009, the film has grossed $4,598,506 in the United States and Canada while grossing $13,114,439 in foreign countries adding to a total of $17,712,945.
Drama
Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance. The term comes from a Greek word meaning "action" , which is derived from "to do","to act" . The enactment of drama in theatre, performed by actors on a stage before an audience, presupposes collaborative modes of production and a...
/thriller film, directed by Marcel Langenegger and written by Mark Bomback
Mark Bomback
Mark Bomback is an American screenwriter originally from New Rochelle, NY. Bomback is a graduate of Wesleyan University, where he studied English Literature and Film Studies.- Screenwriter :*The Night Caller...
. It stars Ewan McGregor
Ewan McGregor
Ewan Gordon McGregor is a Scottish actor. He has had success in mainstream, indie, and art house films. McGregor is perhaps best known for his roles as heroin addict Mark Renton in the drama Trainspotting , young Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy , and poet Christian in the...
, Hugh Jackman
Hugh Jackman
Hugh Michael Jackman is an Australian actor and producer who is involved in film, musical theatre, and television.Jackman has won international recognition for his roles in major films, notably as action/superhero, period and romance characters...
, and Michelle Williams
Michelle Williams (actress)
Michelle Ingrid Williams is an American actress. After starting her career with television guest appearances in the early 1990s, Williams achieved recognition for her role as Jen Lindley on the WB television teen drama Dawson's Creek, which she played from 1998 to 2003...
. The film was released on April 25, 2008 in the United States.
Plot
Accountant Jonathan McQuarry (Ewan McGregorEwan McGregor
Ewan Gordon McGregor is a Scottish actor. He has had success in mainstream, indie, and art house films. McGregor is perhaps best known for his roles as heroin addict Mark Renton in the drama Trainspotting , young Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy , and poet Christian in the...
) is an auditor working out of New York with little to no social life. One night while working late in a boardroom he meets a lawyer, Wyatt Bose (Hugh Jackman
Hugh Jackman
Hugh Michael Jackman is an Australian actor and producer who is involved in film, musical theatre, and television.Jackman has won international recognition for his roles in major films, notably as action/superhero, period and romance characters...
). After a long conversation, Jonathan takes the subway home where he has a brief encounter with a blond woman (Michelle Williams
Michelle Williams (actress)
Michelle Ingrid Williams is an American actress. After starting her career with television guest appearances in the early 1990s, Williams achieved recognition for her role as Jen Lindley on the WB television teen drama Dawson's Creek, which she played from 1998 to 2003...
) while waiting on the train. Upon returning home he notices a pipe in his bedroom is leaking and leaving a stain.
Jonathan contacts Wyatt the next day and they play tennis after work. They meet again for lunch the next day and upon leaving, Wyatt takes Jonathan's mobile phone instead of his own, forcing a trade. He mentions he will be in London on business for the next few weeks. When Jonathan realizes the phones have been switched he attempts to contact Wyatt but does not reach him. He is soon contacted by a woman (Natasha Henstridge
Natasha Henstridge
Natasha T. Henstridge is a Canadian fashion model turned actress. Her most notable on-screen roles include Species, The Whole Nine Yards, It Had To Be You, Ghosts of Mars, She Spies, the TV series Eli Stone, and the Canadian TV mini-series Would Be Kings, for which she won the Gemini Award for...
) who asks if he is free that night. He informs her that he is and agrees to meet her. When she arrives, they proceed directly to a hotel room upstairs and have sex. In the morning, Jonathan realizes that Wyatt must be on some type of exclusive sex club list.
When Wyatt calls the next day, he encourages Jonathan to continue his participation with other list members. Upon doing so he has an encounter with an older woman (Charlotte Rampling
Charlotte Rampling
Charlotte Rampling, OBE is an English actress. Her career spans four decades in English-language as well as French and Italian cinema.- Early life :...
) who explains more of the list's rules: the initiator pays for the room, no names are exchanged, there is no conversation and no rough play. Participants are always anonymous, although Jonathan later spots the older woman on the cover of Forbes
Forbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
. He continues to participate over the next few weeks with several partners.
One night after initiating another encounter, Jonathan is surprised to find that his partner is the blond woman he met while waiting for the train. He tells her that they had met once before, and instead of having sex, they order room service and talk for hours. The woman does not say her name but Jonathan assumes her name to begin with an "S" because of an S-shaped pendant on her handbag. The next day Jonathan rejects other callers from the list but when "S" calls again they agree to meet for dinner in Chinatown
Chinatown, Manhattan
Manhattan's Chinatown , home to one of the highest concentrations of Chinese people in the Western hemisphere, is located in the borough of Manhattan in New York City...
. They then proceed to a hotel where she requests some ice. When Jonathan returns to the room she is gone and there is blood on the bedsheets. Someone knocks him out from behind, but when he wakes up again the bed has been made. He contacts the police and explains to the Detective (Lisa Gay Hamilton
Lisa Gay Hamilton
Lisa Gay Hamilton is an American film, television, and theater actress known for her role as attorney Rebecca Washington on the ABC legal drama The Practice, and for her critically acclaimed performance as young Sethe in Jonathan Demme's film adaptation of Toni Morrison's Beloved...
) that "S" is missing but that he has little to no information about her. She doubts his story and his sanity. Jonathan tries to trace Wyatt and is told that he is not known at the law firm or the apartment.
Upon returning home Jonathan is surprised to find Wyatt waiting for him and demanding that he steal $20 million from an investment firm he will begin to audit in a few days. Jonathan agrees to do so, fearing for the safety of "S". The following night at work, Jonathan receives a call asking if he was free. The woman calling is named Tina (Maggie Q
Maggie Q
Margaret Denise Quigley , professionally known as Maggie Q, is an American-born actress and former fashion model. She currently stars as the titular character on the action-thriller TV series Nikita.-Early life:...
), an investment banker who once introduced Wyatt to the exclusive sex club list. She reveals that Wyatt's real name is Jamie Getz, and that they met when he was attending a private corporate event as a guest of Rudolph Holloway, an investment banker with whom Jamie Getz played tennis. Jonathan finds out through research that Jamie Getz murdered Rudolph Holloway via strangulation with tennis strings, and also did three years for insurance fraud and arson. Jonathan is later notified by the detective that a blond woman matching his earlier description was discovered dead. When he comes in to identify her, he sees that it is actually the first woman who called him, and that she was also strangled by tennis strings.
Jonathan goes on to complete a wire transfer to a bank in Spain
Spain
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Spain's official name is as follows:;;;;;;), is a country and member state of the European Union located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula...
in his name, but secretly adds Wyatt's name as co-signer. When he returns home he notices that a picture Wyatt had sent of "S" being held captive was taken in his apartment before the pipe started leaking. He realizes that she must have been a conspirator and wisely avoids his apartment which explodes when the superintendent enters to fix the pipe.
Now in Madrid
Madrid
Madrid is the capital and largest city of Spain. The population of the city is roughly 3.3 million and the entire population of the Madrid metropolitan area is calculated to be 6.271 million. It is the third largest city in the European Union, after London and Berlin, and its metropolitan...
, Wyatt impersonates Jonathan and attempts to withdraw the funds from the bank, but he is denied access because of the co-signer. Jonathan approaches Wyatt outside the bank and agrees to help him withdraw the funds if Wyatt splits it with him. Swapping identities, Jonathan and Wyatt cash in the $20 million in two $10 million suitcases. (A deleted scene reveals that Jonathan encountered a black market operator in Chinatown, who offered a variety of items, including fake passports; Jonathan presumably obtained a passport with his image in the name of Wyatt Bose and used this in his scheme to obtain half of the money). After the transaction is complete, Jonathan offers Wyatt half of his money if Wyatt tells him where "S" is. Wyatt pretends to agree and lures Jonathan to an uncrowded area where he draws a gun on Jonathan. Before he is able to shoot Jonathan, Wyatt is shot by "S" who leaves quickly. Jonathan pursues her, leaving a dying Wyatt and the money behind. He begs her to talk to him but she rather call it off, apologizing to him as she did not know Wyatt's intent to kill Jonathan. "S" gets into a cab and leaves as Jonathan watches her go.
In Madrid, Jonathan again crosses path with "S" and they exchange smiles. The film comes to a close as Jonathan walks to her and she stands waiting for him.
Cast
- Hugh JackmanHugh JackmanHugh Michael Jackman is an Australian actor and producer who is involved in film, musical theatre, and television.Jackman has won international recognition for his roles in major films, notably as action/superhero, period and romance characters...
as Jamie Getz a.k.a. Wyatt Bose - Ewan McGregorEwan McGregorEwan Gordon McGregor is a Scottish actor. He has had success in mainstream, indie, and art house films. McGregor is perhaps best known for his roles as heroin addict Mark Renton in the drama Trainspotting , young Jedi Obi-Wan Kenobi in the Star Wars prequel trilogy , and poet Christian in the...
as Jonathan McQuarry - Michelle WilliamsMichelle Williams (actress)Michelle Ingrid Williams is an American actress. After starting her career with television guest appearances in the early 1990s, Williams achieved recognition for her role as Jen Lindley on the WB television teen drama Dawson's Creek, which she played from 1998 to 2003...
as "S" - Maggie QMaggie QMargaret Denise Quigley , professionally known as Maggie Q, is an American-born actress and former fashion model. She currently stars as the titular character on the action-thriller TV series Nikita.-Early life:...
as Tina - Lisa Gay HamiltonLisa Gay HamiltonLisa Gay Hamilton is an American film, television, and theater actress known for her role as attorney Rebecca Washington on the ABC legal drama The Practice, and for her critically acclaimed performance as young Sethe in Jonathan Demme's film adaptation of Toni Morrison's Beloved...
as Detective J. Russo - Natasha HenstridgeNatasha HenstridgeNatasha T. Henstridge is a Canadian fashion model turned actress. Her most notable on-screen roles include Species, The Whole Nine Yards, It Had To Be You, Ghosts of Mars, She Spies, the TV series Eli Stone, and the Canadian TV mini-series Would Be Kings, for which she won the Gemini Award for...
as Simone Wilkinson - Charlotte RamplingCharlotte RamplingCharlotte Rampling, OBE is an English actress. Her career spans four decades in English-language as well as French and Italian cinema.- Early life :...
as Wall Street Belle - Javier GodinoJavier GodinoJavier Godino is a Spanish actor.- Biography :Godino began his studies at Juan Carlos Corazza's School of Interpretation...
as Spanish Bank Manager
Critical reception
The film received substantially negative reviews from critics. As of April 27, 2008, the review aggregator Rotten TomatoesRotten Tomatoes
Rotten Tomatoes is a website devoted to reviews, information, and news of films—widely known as a film review aggregator. Its name derives from the cliché of audiences throwing tomatoes and other vegetables at a poor stage performance...
reported that 14% of critics gave the film positive reviews, based on 95 reviews – with the consensus that the film is "a middling, predictable potboiler
Potboiler
Potboiler or pot-boiler is a term used to describe a poor quality novel, play, opera, or film, or other creative work that was created quickly to make money to pay for the creator's daily expenses . Authors who create potboiler novels or screenplays are sometimes called hack writers...
." Metacritic
Metacritic
Metacritic.com is a website that collates reviews of music albums, games, movies, TV shows and DVDs. For each product, a numerical score from each review is obtained and the total is averaged. An excerpt of each review is provided along with a hyperlink to the source. Three colour codes of Green,...
reported the film had an average score of 32 out of 100, based on 22 reviews.
Box office
In its opening weekend, the film grossed $2.3 million in 2,001 theaters in the United StatesUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Canada
Canada
Canada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, averaging only $1,155 per theater and ranking #10 at the box office. As of September 22, 2009, the film has grossed $4,598,506 in the United States and Canada while grossing $13,114,439 in foreign countries adding to a total of $17,712,945.