Tyler Perry's Duplicity centers around the character “Marley”. Marley is a lawyer who is in love with a very caring and dedicated man; her “dream man” as she rightly called him but she still carries a baggage full of trust issues from her previous relationships. Instead of focusing on her man and trying to work things out, she prefers to meddle in her best friend’s relationship which seems to be falling apart. This little meddling act gives her some sense of fulfilment.
One morning, Marley forces everyone; her boyfriend (Tony), her best friend (Rodney) and the best friend’s wife (Fela), to an awkward breakfast to see what's going wrong in their marriage in a bid to do what lawyers know how to do best, fix things. Rodney isn't in the mood to have such a conversation so he goes for a morning run shortly after the gathering.
Marley just finished killing it in a courtroom only to come out to the news that her black well-built male best friend has been shot by a white rookie police officer.
On arrival at the hospital where Rodney was rushed to, Marley finds out that he didn't make it. She becomes instantly devastated and wants to get to the bottom of it all. She tries to grief but can't stop looking into the cause of Rodney’s death. As she looks further, Marley discovers that Rodney isn't the man she thought he was. As she digs further, she realizes that no one is indeed as they seem. Marley has to get to the bottom of it all, amidst the odds.
Going against all of the friendly advice from people, I decided to watch a Tyler Perry movie and I wouldn't say it was a bad watch for me. On the contrary, it was captivating to a degree for me. I do not know if this happens to just me but whenever I see a movie, there is always some form of mind-work involved. I dont just watch movies for the sake of watching. Yes, movies are supposed to be entertaining but I like it when such entertainment involves guessing and “Duplicity” involves loads of guessing.
First off, the plot was exceptional courtesy of the many plot twists. At some point in the movie, all the characters got all they wanted but it felt like something was not right and right on cue, new villains were revealed. The plot took viewers to the top, brought them down and took them up again in 1 hour and 49 minutes. Although I suspected that something else was going to happen, I didnt know which angle it was going to occur from and this made the viewing experience a tad bit more interesting.
This movie discussed themes of both healthy and unhealthy relationships,stereotypes, politics and the consequences of deception. Right from the very first scene, there was a lesson to learn. I particularly like how the director, Tyler Perry, left no stone unturned when portraying these themes and he went ahead to show the consequences that follow certain actions.
The casts played their roles beautifully although most, if not all of them, were two-faced. One couldn't really tell the good guys apart from the bad ones and like with many other movies, the good guys were made to look sketchy just to throw viewers off balance. Was this the case with me? I’d say no because I had already studied these characters and their personalities from the very first time they popped up on the screen.
My favourite character had to be Marley. Marley reminded me so much of jhymi because asides from the profession, her mannerism and basically almost every other thing was similar to jhymi’s. Marley played the role of a determined,eloquent, resilient and confident lawyer who was willing to go the extra mile for those she loved. However, those who took her dedication for granted faced the necessary consequence.
Duplicity was indeed a good watch for me. For the first time in a long time, I actually looked forward to the climax and the end of this movie and even when I got to the end, I wanted more. This drama thriller is worth the watch in my opinion and I would give it a rating of 3 out of 5 stars.
