Deception – DVD Review

Film, Reviews, Top Story

Available at Amazon.com

Sliver, Derailed, Closer, and Disclosure. If you’ve seen one, any, or all of those films then I can pretty much guarantee that you’ve seen anything that happens in Deception, but on a better scale. Please don’t think I’m defending any of those films listed, because besides Closer, none of them deserve more then one viewing. They all are virtually about the same thing and never quite get it right. Closer came err, close; but I still feel as if they’ve never quite gotten into the full realm of hidden sex clubs. Maybe if they got personal experience instead of just writing a script and grabbing some big named actors, then they’d get it right.

Jonathan McQuarry is an auditor/accountant who leads the life you’d kind of expect from said profession. He is rather lonely and kind of married to his work more then living life and being social. He does want the better things in life, though, and it’s obvious by the jealousy boiling inside of him as he watches everyone else enjoy the good things.

Wyatt Bose is a savvy lawyer that leads the life Jonathan only wishes he could. He has money, women, fun, and even more women. Luck is in the cards for Jonathan though as he works late one a night that Wyatt happens to be doing the same. A little conversation and before they know it, Wyatt is introducing Jonathan to the life he’s always dreamed about, and he’s loving every minute of it.

They go off to the sex clubs together, and Jonathan begins to learn that the life he wanted was right before his eyes but he never saw it. Wyatt takes Jonathan with him everywhere and teaches him about the better things that the world can bring as long as he goes out and gets them. It is al going really well until one night the two men part company and accidentally grab each other’s cell phones. Wyatt is on his way on a business trip and is gone before the mix-up is found out. A phone call and a mysterious and sultry female voice later, and Jonathan is living a life that is even better then the one he was recently introduced to. He’s living the life of Wyatt Bose.

Predictability is not the only thing that plagues Deception, but it plays a big part in keeping the film very uninteresting. No, what bothers me the most are the huge plot holes; including one in particular that is what the whole film is centered around. The possessiveness that people have grown to have with their cell phones in this day and age is just ridiculous. You can’t go ten minutes without seeing someone check their cell phone or most likely doing it yourself. What are the chances that an auditor and a lawyer are going to get even five feet without realizing they picked up the wrong cell phone? Not any if you ask me so I just find that whole part very hard to believe. And if you can’t believe that, then consider the rest of the film ruined for you because that’s where it all begins.

Besides the predictability and absurdness of the plot holes, there is just a severe lack of intensity, personality, and even passion in the film. For a story that supposedly takes the viewer into the underbelly of big city sex clubs and shows that sex is just that, sex; a lot is left to the imagination and leaves you wondering what you’re watching. With less passion then what you get in softcore porn on Cinemax, Deception doesn’t deliver enough in any other departments which will make you want to even keep paying attention. McGregor is good in his role, but Jackman just sticks out horribly and doesn’t belong in the evil and demeaning character of Wyatt Bose. He can play a bad guy and can even play a superhero, but in this lackluster film of deceit and lust, Jackman is simply a member of the X-Men without any powers at all.

The film is shown in 2.35:1 Anamorphic Widescreen format and most of the screeners I get from Fox are usually pretty good in quality, but that’s not the case here. Even though the film is mostly darker and has a gray hue to it throughout, there is a bit of graininess and overall lack of sharpness at times.

The film is heard in Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound and this comes through pretty nicely. All dialogue can be heard clearly and besides some music, the surround sound isn’t used for much else.

Audio Commentary – Director Marcel Langanegger is flying solo here for the commentary track that needed some company to make this even the least bit interesting. He takes the unpopular approach of telling you exactly what is happening on screen and why. Not interesting in the least.

Exposing The Deception – A very basic “making of” featurette here that has thoughts from the cast and crew along with backstage scenes shown and it lasts just over eighteen minutes. Nothing of real interest is shown or told here so it’s not worth even checking out.

Club Sexy – That name just drives me mad. Club Sexy? Really? Oy! This ten-minute-six-second feature gives us some of the crew along with real therapist who explore the reality of actual sex clubs. As if we didn’t already all know they are a real thing; this featurette dumbs it down for us to explain why people actually frequent them.

Added Deception – A clever way of saying “deleted scenes” of which there are three and they add next to nothing. One of them is actually an “alternate ending” to the film which would have taken it in a different direction, but still not made up for the rest of it.


When it comes to the dark and seductive films being made, so many different actors throw their hats into the ring and hope it will open up new doorways for them. Maybe it will stop them from being typecast as “the good guy” or “the hero,” but more often then not it just provides a big ol’ blemish on their film résumé. That is what Hugh Jackman, Ewan McGregor, and Michelle Williams end up with here although I’m not quite so sure it will be a big deal for Williams. Anyway, Deception is a film that provides very little suspense while bringing forth a small amount of suspense. The special features aren’t really worth checking out either because let’s face it, how often do you really want to watch anything extra on a film you just watched and could care less about? Not just for that reason though are they worthless. The special features just provide nothing worth noting that adds to the film or even attempts to make it better. I wouldn’t bother with even a rental here, but go with Closer because it is more suspenseful, a bit sexier, and even has some heart-warming moments that will leave you with a good feeling after all the hatred is said and done. The music from Damien Rice is good too.

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20th Century Fox presents Deception. Directed by: Marcel Langanegger. Starring: Hugh Jackman, Ewan McGregor, Michelle Williams, Maggie Q, and more. Written by: Mark Bomback. Running time: 102 minutes. Rating: R. Released on DVD: September 23, 2008. Available at Amazon.com