Deception

R

Released Apr 25, 2008

1 hr. 47 min.

Mystery & Thriller

Drama

List

11%

99 Reviews

Tomatometer

31%

50,000+ Ratings

Audience Score

As a corporate auditor who works in a number of different offices, Jonathan McQuarry (Ewan McGregor) wanders without an anchor among New York's power brokers. A chance meeting with charismatic lawyer Wyatt Bose (Hugh Jackman) leads to Jonathan's introduction to The List, an underground sex club. Jonathan begins an affair with a woman known only as S (Michelle Williams), who introduces Jonathan to a world of treachery and murder.

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Critics Consensus

Deception is a middling, predictable potboiler with mediocre dialogue and ludicrous plot twists.

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Test T

I watched this on DVD recently, and I thought it was excellent. It's a well made, well acted, stylish and sophisticated thriller, that delivers exactly what it says on the cover in spades - An intense, complex and thoroughly absorbing "Deception". The scenes looks great, with lots of well chosen locations, and the soundtrack compliments the action perfectly. It is violent at times, but only when necessary in keeping with the story. I watched the DVD extras after the film and it turns out that the film looks so good because the director Marcel Langenegger is an extremely talented cinematographer. While the daytime scenes were shot on traditional film, the nighttime scenes were shot digitally, which is why they contain so much detail and look so amazing. Also included in the extras is an alternative ending which is equally as good as the one they used, and certainly worth a look. I really don't know why the critics don't like this film, but I don't care and thoroughly recommend it.

Rated 4.5 out of 5 stars

12/26/23

Full Review

Donna H

Well, I really liked this movie and do not think it deserved all the trash on here. Very solid performances by Ewan McGregor, Hugh Jackman and Michelle Williams. McGregor especially nailed the timid, nerdy accountant with perfect facial expressions and body movements of a very shy guy. If really watched, you'll see he does get the girl in the end (her smile at the end says it all) and he won't go to jail because they think Hugh's character is actually Jonathan McQuarry (passport in his pocket). Predictable? Not to me.

Rated 5 out of 5 stars

05/23/23

Full Review

claire f

I don't understand all the haters.

Rated 3.5 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Neil C

1.5 stars just because I actually watched the whole thing. Predictable and flat... generally promised more than it ever delivered, and is a complete waste of the talents of the cast. Michele Williams is critically underused. This feels like a movie from the nineties... sexist and lacking any substance or wit. What a movie looks like when the actors are just cashing paychecks.

Rated 1.5 out of 5 stars

06/20/22

Full Review

dave j

Both Wyatt (Hugh Jackson) and Jonathan (Ewan McGregor) meet together at an accountant firm with Jonathan exploring a little of Wyatt's lavish lifestyle until both accidentally grabbed the other's phones. It is during then Jonathan chooses to have affairs with many of the ladies from the numbers from Wyatt's phone. Resorting the question whether it is nothing more but a set up.

Rated 2 out of 5 stars

03/30/23

Full Review

Audience Member

Boring with a lame ending. I mean seriously, who leaves 20 million dollars in the middle of a public park? I thought the plot about the sex club would develop and they even brought in Maggie Q but for what? What a waste of time.

Rated 1 out of 5 stars

01/20/23

Full Review

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Marcel Langenegger

Director

Hugh Jackman

Wyatt Bose

Ewan McGregor

Jonathan McQuarry

Michelle Williams

S

LisaGay Hamilton

Det. Russo

Maggie Q

Tina

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Drew Toal

Time Out

The success of thrillers like this one depends heavily on skillfully handled smoke and mirrors, but Deception's predictable plot turns won't really deceive anyone.

Rated: 2/5

Nov 6, 2018

Full Review

Geoffrey Macnab

Sight & Sound

As the double-crosses come thick and fast, it's hard to retain much curiosity about or sympathy for any of the film's duplicitous protagonists.

Nov 6, 2018

Full Review

Bob Mondello

NPR

When sex (and mystery) gives way to a multimillion-dollar heist (and explanations), the whole thing just gets silly. Sexy fun for a while, though.

Nov 6, 2018

Full Review

Brian Prisco

Pajiba

It all culminates in one of the most audaciously terrible endings ever captured on celluloid.

Nov 6, 2018

Full Review

Dave White

Movies.com

You know what's not sexy? Sexiness. I mean the overt, in-your-face, "Aren't we all being sultry and naughty?" sort of sexiness. Which is what this entire movie is, thinking it's daring.

Rated: 3/5

Nov 5, 2018

Full Review

David Medsker

Bullz-Eye.com

You'd be hard pressed to find a sex thriller as unsexy and thrill-free as Deception.

Rated: 1.5/5

Nov 5, 2018

Full Review

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Synopsis

As a corporate auditor who works in a number of different offices, Jonathan McQuarry (Ewan McGregor) wanders without an anchor among New York's power brokers. A chance meeting with charismatic lawyer Wyatt Bose (Hugh Jackman) leads to Jonathan's introduction to The List, an underground sex club. Jonathan begins an affair with a woman known only as S (Michelle Williams), who introduces Jonathan to a world of treachery and murder.

Director: Marcel Langenegger
Executive Producer: Marjorie Shik
Screenwriter: Mark Bomback
Distributor: 20th Century Fox
Production Co: Seed
Rating: R (Language|Brief Violence|Sexual Content|Some Drug Use)
Genre: Mystery & Thriller, Drama
Original Language: English
Release Date (Theaters): Apr 25, 2008, Wide
Release Date (Streaming): Oct 2, 2013
Box Office (Gross USA): $4.6M
Sound Mix: SDDS, Dolby SRD, DTS, Dolby Stereo
Aspect Ratio: Scope (2.35:1)

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