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Deception

By Sam Sweet 

Lonely is the life of the mogul. The long hours and hectic schedule make dating a headache, but who needs romance when you have the services of an anonymous sex club at your disposal? Like Rideshare with benefits, the "list" around which Deception centers is a phone directory of stock-market power players who make anonymous dates with each other to satisfy their carnal appetites. What could be better than a system that streamlines sex the way the BlackBerry streamlined communication? As one female participant explains, the list offers "intimacy without intricacy." Smug and sculpted Wyatt Bose (Hugh Jackman) is the charismatic lawyer who inducts a meek auditor (Ewan MacGregor) into this secret society; when the auditor falls for one of its mysterious beauties (Michelle Williams), an elaborate con begins to unravel. Director Marcel Lagenegger is known for his sleek, stylish television ads, and his feature film debut has the same feel as one of his spots for Toyota or Mercedes. Cinematographer Dante Spinotti (Heat, The Insider) paints a nighttime metropolis reflected in inky glass and diffused beams of color; this vision of Gotham is as fastidious as the cockpit of a BMW. But rather than sell luxury sedans, Deception offers a fantasy even big money can't buy — Wall Street as a cross between a James Bond adventure and a Victoria's Secret spread.