Perhaps you’ve heard the old expression, “You can’t polish a turd.” Apparently, it dates back to an age when people mistakenly attempted to polish them in hopes of, I dunno, exhibiting them at the county fair.
But, as it turns out, you can’t really polish a turd. And you shouldn’t even try to, come to think of it. The point is, you can’t dress something up in pretty clothes and hide what an undesirable mess it is underneath. No, we’re not talking about Lindsay Lohan, but you’re on the right track.
The new erotic thriller Deception feels like it began in a brainstorming session. That’s the only place where this bad idea wouldn’t be acknowledged as a bad idea. Not even remotely believable from the opening scene, Deception tries to fill your eyes but not your brain; it teases you with lurid, anonymous sex in hopes that you won’t see how empty its story truly is.
And here’s a little note for director Marcel Langenegger, making his debut with Deception: We’ve seen sex scenes before, and at this point, they have to be pretty spectacular to even keep our interest, much less cloud our minds from the absence of a story with forward momentum and reasonable characters and activity.
The sex interrupts a poorly disguised con executed by slick, smooth talking Wyatt (Hugh Jackman) on poor, nervous Jonathan (Ewan McGregor). Wyatt introduces his new acquaintance into the good life of easy money and easier women, and soon, Jonathan is seducing perfect strangers in hotel rooms all over New York. Could happen to anyone, really.
The one catch in this sex club is that names aren’t allowed, so when he meets a beautiful woman he wants for more than sex (Michelle Williams, somehow looking both radiant and frail), Jonathan is caught up in Wyatt’s dangerous game.
Article comments
1 - bella
I disagree totally about Hugh Jackman, he is very believable in this, perfect for the role, he oozes charisma and plays sinister very convincingly, he was also terrific in The Prestige. I thought Michelle Williams was also good but Ewan Mcgregor not as much because of the accent. The stand out was Jackman, he seems to be able to play any type of role, and I can't wait to see him in "Australia"