‘Duplicity’

Filmmaker Tony Gilroy has become a master of modernized tradition. The writer on all three “Bourne” films and the writer-director of “Michael Clayton,” he has a gift for updating classic Hollywood forms with smart and sophisticated contemporary touches. In “Duplicity” he’s taken two of the biggest stars around, Julia Roberts and Clive Owen, and put them into what is essentially “Michael Clayton Lite.” The only thing you can trust about “Duplicity” is its title. Nothing else in this sleek, dizzying entertainment is even remotely what it seems to be. A throwback to the days of old-school caper movies like “To Catch a Thief,” “Duplicity” is the kind of sophisticated amusement that’s always in short supply.

-- Kenneth Turan