Deception

"When you're in this world, no one is who they seem, and everyone is playing the game."

2008 1h 47m EN

😐

6.0

MID

🥫

10%

ROTTEN

😬

METACRITIC

⭐

IMDB

★6.0TMDB · 751🥫10%Rotten Tomatoes●31Metacritic★6IMDB · 42,105

ThrillerMystery

Synopsis

Spoiler shield

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

“When you're in this world, no one is who they seem, and everyone is playing the game.”

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Cast

Ewan McGregor
Jonathan McQuarry
Hugh Jackman
Wyatt Bose
Michelle Williams
S
Natasha Henstridge
Simone Wilkinson
Charlotte Rampling
Wall Street Belle
Bruce Altman
Lawyer #1
Andrew Ginsburg
Lawyer #2
Stephanie Roth Haberle
Assistant Controller

Credits

Behind the camera

Director: Marcel Langenegger
Writers: Mark Bomback, Mark Bomback
Languages: English
Countries: Spain, United States of America

Want more? Switch to Cinephile mode in the header for DP, composer, budget, box office, production companies, keywords, and release history.

Did you know?

Fun facts 🍿

1 / 8

MONEY

Did you know

Earned back only 72% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.

MoodPlayr · trivia#01

2 / 8

ERA

Did you know

Released 18 years ago.

MoodPlayr · trivia#02

3 / 8

WORLD

Did you know

International production across 2 countries: Spain, United States of America.

MoodPlayr · trivia#03

4 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Directed by Marcel Langenegger, shot by Dante Spinotti. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.

MoodPlayr · trivia#04

5 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Original score by Ramin Djawadi. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.

MoodPlayr · trivia#05

6 / 8

DIRECTOR

Did you know

Editor Douglas Crise shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.

MoodPlayr · trivia#06

7 / 8

CAST

Did you know

Ewan McGregor and Hugh Jackman and Michelle Williams carry the top of the cast.

MoodPlayr · trivia#07

8 / 8

FACT

Did you know

Marketing tagline: "When you're in this world, no one is who they seem, and everyone is playing the game.".

MoodPlayr · trivia#08

Cinephile deep dive

The take

Marcel Langenegger directs. Dante Spinotti behind the camera. Ramin Djawadi scores. Douglas Crise cuts. A commercial under-performer on release. Produced in Spain, United States of America. Dialogue in English.

Trivia

Things worth knowing

1Earned back only 72% of its budget on initial theatrical — a commercial disappointment on release.
2Released 18 years ago.
3International production across 2 countries: Spain, United States of America.
4Directed by Marcel Langenegger, shot by Dante Spinotti. Note their partnership — DPs and directors often return to each other across a career.
5Original score by Ramin Djawadi. Worth a dedicated listen after — most great films lose half their impact without the score.
6Editor Douglas Crise shaped the rhythm. On an edit-heavy film, the editor does more to control your pulse than the director.
7Ewan McGregor and Hugh Jackman and Michelle Williams carry the top of the cast.
8Marketing tagline: "When you're in this world, no one is who they seem, and everyone is playing the game.".
9IMDB entry: tt0800240 — still the authoritative cross-reference for credits and trivia.

The technical file

Cinematography: Dante Spinotti
Original score: Ramin Djawadi
Editing: Douglas Crise
Production design: Patrizia von Brandenstein
Costume design: Anna Bingemann
Makeup / hair: Donna Marie Fischetto
VFX supervisor: Geoff McAuliffe
Stunt coordinator: Miguel Pedregosa
Runtime: 107 min · 1h 47m
Aspect ratio (typical): 1.37:1 (Academy)
Status: Released
Budget: $25,000,000
Box office: $18,024,545
Return: 72% of budget
Original language: EN
Certification (US): R
IMDB: Deception (2008)
Rotten Tomatoes: 10% 🥫 Rotten
Metacritic: 31/100
IMDB rating: 6/10 · 42,105 votes
MPAA: R

Awards

2 wins & 1 nomination total

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Selected frames

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Trailers & featurettes

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Community reviews

What people are saying

John Chard2017-10-23
★ 5/10
Sunbeam and Bashful Boy. Deception is directed by Marcel Langenegger and written by Mark Bomback. It stars Ewen McGregor, Hugh Jackman and Michelle Williams. Music is by Ramin Djawadi and cinematography by Dante Spinotti. Jonathan McQuarry (McGregor) is a timid New York accountant who whilst working late one night meets Wyatt Bose (Jackman). Bose is the complete opposite to McQuarry, he's highly sexed, confident and supremely cool. So when a mix up with the pair's mobile phones introduces McQuarry to an exclusive sex group, he's spun into a world completely alien to him. If you have watched a lot of film noir, both classic era and neo, Deception will come off as irritatingly stale. What we have here is very much a case of the title revealing far too much! You would hope that with the makers going for broke with such a title then they would have the nous to fill out the story with surprises, take us and the principal characters down some twisty streets, not so, sadly. Within ten minutes you catch on to what is happening, the writing so poor as to not cleverly challenge the narrative drive. It could maybe be argued that McQuarry's journey, and how the character evolves, is something of a veer from the noir norm? But it has no dramatic worth and renders the finale as dull (the alternate ending is even worse). It's not a total wash out as such, the cast are engaging in their roles, good actors straining to make a weak screenplay work, while cameos from Natasha Henstridge, Charlotte Rampling and Maggie Q impact to come off as better than novelty value. And then there's Spinotti's (Manhunter, L.A. Confidential, Heat) cinematography, the best character in the play. His nighttime city scapes are electric, his colour lenses beautiful (golds and blues are poetic), his work deserves a better film. But that's about it, leaving us with a shallow noir cover version that's in search of its own identity. For those not familiar with the noir form, then this is just about average enough for a look see. For noir fans, though, it's neither erotic or thrilling and as unadventurous as it gets. 5/10
JPV8522023-09-11
★ 7/10
Seen this one twice now (last time was probably when it was released on DVD) but decided to give it another shot as I don't recall being all that enamored with it. This time, I did like it a bit more but still not a great thriller, but made watchable with Hugh Jackman in a villain role. Ewan McGregor was alright as was Michelle Williams, though neither were great. Still, worth a rental. 3.25/5