
Duplicity
2009

1932
ApprovedDirector
Ernst Lubitsch
Runtime
83 minutes
Average Rating
No ratings yetSynopsis
Thief Gaston Monescu and pickpocket Lily are partners in crime and love. Working for perfume company executive Mariette Colet, the two crooks decide to combine their criminal talents to rob their employer. Under the alias of Monsieur Laval, Gaston uses his position as Mariette's personal secretary to become closer to her. However, he takes things too far when he actually falls in love with Mariette, and has to choose between her and Lily.
Overall Score
Fair
Category Breakdown
LGBTQ+ Representation
The film operates within a strictly heteronormative framework. While it utilizes heavy sexual innuendo and romantic deception, it lacks explicit depictions of non-cisnormative identities or queer orientations.
Gender Representation
Female leads like Mariette Colet and Lily are depicted as intelligent, strategic, and sexually autonomous agents. They drive the plot's complexity, subverting traditional hierarchies that often cast women as passive objects.
Racial & Ethnic Diversity
The cast is largely homogeneous, focusing on a white, upper-class demographic. The narrative remains centered on Western aristocratic circles without evidence of diverse ethnic identities.
Religious & Cultural Diversity
The film employs moral relativism, framing theft and deception as sophisticated maneuvers. It portrays high-society institutions as playgrounds for artifice and performative identity rather than bastions of virtue.
Disability Representation
There are no discernible depictions of visible or invisible disabilities. Characters are presented primarily through the lens of physical grace and social agility.
Strengths
Areas for Improvement
AI Analysis
Ernst Lubitsch’s direction elevates the film through a sophisticated deconstruction of social decorum. The narrative replaces rigid morality with a playful, relativistic framework where wit and intellect define character agency. While the film excels in subverting gendered power dynamics, it lacks intersectional breadth. The focus on high-society European artifice limits the inclusion of diverse racial and LGBTQ+ identities. Ultimately, the film succeeds in granting agency to its characters, particularly the women, who navigate their world through strategic deception rather than adherence to social or legal hierarchies.

2009

1985

1966

1939

1955

1933

1963

1938

1941

2003

1937

1942
No reviews yet. Be the first to share your thoughts on this movie!
Use the rating form above to leave a star rating and optional review.