I watched this movie because of the interesting star combination of Hugh Jackman and Ewan McGregor. I did not have an idea what the story would be about. However, the simple (and unimaginative) title was a give-away of the plot. Within the first ten minutes, you already feel you have seen this movie before. I immediately thought of the Clive Owen-Jennifer Aniston movie "Derailed." (The initial chance seduction occurred at a train station, as well.)
John McQuarrie (Ewan McGregor) is a lonely accountant/auditor with zero social life. He gets hooked into a sex "list" by the magnetic man's man Wyatt Bose (Hugh Jackman). There he meets the girl of his dreams simply known to him as "S" (Michelle Williams). Of course, since the title gives away the plot, you knew this set-up was all an elaborate deception, and nothing is really what it seemed.
As for the plot, there were a lot of improbabilities that weaken the story (some spoilers follow later for those interested). The suspense was a bit muted because the director was generous with the clues. Or may be we have just watched to many of these variations of this story in movies.
The sex "list" set-up (which was the main thing of interest that set this movie apart from others like it) was most likely inspired by real such social clubs. These lurid circles where busy high-class people just call each other randomly for some anonymous commitment-free sex, I am sure, ordinary guys like us will never get mixed up with in real life. This movie does give us a vicarious teasing peek into this alternative lifestyle, though.
I did like the triumph of good at the end though, because there were no strings attached.
I could not help but compare this film with "Derailed" because they were so similar, and "Derailed" was clearly better in all aspects. That said, this film "Deception" is really not that bad as the cheap local posters (that resort to sexy photos of girls in lingerie) would suggest.
***********SPOILERS FOLLOW**************
These are the questions that the movie requires you to turn a blind eye on: How could Bose possibly assume that McQuarrie would do his criminal bidding just because of "S"? At that time, McQuarrie had only met "S" twice, and they did not even have sex yet. And indeed, can an auditor actually gain access to perform multi-million dollar money transfers from the company he is auditing? Also, is it that easy to create fake passports? Especially in the case of McQuarrie.
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