Reviewed by Max Foizey.

Release Date: March 25, 2008
Directed By: Marcel Langenegger
Starring: Hugh Jackman, Ewan McGregor, Michelle Williams
Rating: R

Being a fan of film noir, I was very much looking forward to seeing "Deception." I heard all about the problems before production, when the script was called "The List" and certain studios refused to make the film because of its racy content. When I heard it was not only filming, but with a pretty great cast, I was intrigued.

Ewan McGregor plays Jonathan McQuarry, a shy accountant who works with high-level firms as a temp, cleaning up their books then moving on to the next gig. Right away we see McQuarry's life is a dull one. Enter one Wyatt Bose (Hugh Jackman) a hotshot attorney who chats up McQuarry one night after business hours with jokes, drugs, and the promise of friendship.

Because this is film noir, we know Bose is here to take advantage of McQuarry (look at the title), the only question is how. Before he goes out of town, Bose switches their cell phones (?) and shortly after McQuarry is sucked into the world of "The List," some sort of sex club where names are not exchanged but bodily fluids most definitely are.

Being the nice guy that he is, McQuarry falls for one of the sex club ladies (Michelle Williams), but then she gets kidnapped and held for ransom. Gee, I wonder who could have kidnapped her? If you've seen 2005's "Derailed" with the horribly miscast Clive Owen and Jennifer Aniston, then you've already got this one figured out. Their stories are so similar, "Deception" could pass for a remake of "Derailed."

Ewan McGregor does a better job acting naive than Clive Owen did in "Derailed," but the insipid things the script has him doing towards the end of the film are totally unbelievable.

For some reason, I don't want to be as big a fan of Hugh Jackman as I am...but I am. He's appeared (and done good work) in some of my favorite films, from "The Prestige" to "The Fountain." Plus, the guy's Wolverine. C'mon. What more can you ask for, bub?

It's not that Jackman is bad in "Deception," it's just that he has little to do as Wyatt Bose besides act smarmy. And he's smarmylicious in his first scene, so there's no where else to go from there except smarmywhatevs. (That is to say, you get tired of his smarmyschtick.)

Michelle Williams impressed me very much with her work in "Brokeback Mountain," but isn't asked to do more than quietly sulk as a character whose name we never learn, save for first letter: "S." (I'm betting the 'S' stands for 'Sulky.')

Natasha Henstridge shows up to do, well, nothing, and her character is a good analogy for the entire film. People show up to do nothing. I feel especially bad for Charlotte Rampling, who is far too fine an actress to be mixed up in all this. In her brief scenes you get the feeling there was a better, more sinister film buried somewhere in this mess of a script. Too bad it wasn't salvaged.

Ready for a new kind of radio? Check out the award winning Max On Movies, every Saturday from 2-4pm on 97.1 FM Talk. You'll hear breaking news about upcoming films, reviews of the latest theatrical and DVD releases, and interviews with your favorite actors, directors, and writers. Max On Movies was awarded a Certificate of Merit in the Special Program category from the Missouri Broadcasters Association in 2007. A member of the Saint Louis Gateway Film Critics Association, Max has written about film for various print and Web media, and appeared as guest critic on nationally syndicated radio shows. "Deception" is the UK title for the John Frankenheimer's "Reindeer Games," which, while flawed, is a much better film than this hot mess. E-mail Max at mfoizey@stl.emmis.com