MovieChat Forums > Duplicity (2009) Discussion > SPOILERS whats the point of the con

SPOILERS whats the point of the con

posted 13 years ago by yrussell
4 replies | jump to latest

SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER SPOILER
Some people on IMDB are bitterly complaining that they don't understand the purpose of the con.

The whole point of the con was to destroy the reputation of Burkett & Randle (Paul Giamatti's company). When Garsik (Giamatti) announced with tremendous fanfare and swagger that baldness has been cured, he convinced a cheering crowd of shareholdes that he has made they all incredibly wealthy. The fact that the baldness cure was bogus (and will probably never exist) means that he will swiftly need to make a very humiliating retraction. He's been check-mated. Shareholders will never trust him again, he will probably lose his job, and the value of the company will nosedive. The moment at the end (during the credits), when Garsik is sitting at his cell phone looking stunned is the moment he knows that his career has been destroyed.

The other option is to cover it up... but that will only delay his destruction temporarily (because time will pass and no product will come out).

I liked the puzzling plot. If you didn't get the first time, then watch it again! Or, just avoid this type of film altogether. YR

[–] mrman3285 13 years ago

Giamatti was the head of the competing company not Burkett & Randle

Burkett and Randle hired the covert team and they played Clive, Julia and Paul Giamatti. Clive and Julia were just a means to convince Paul it was working...although a super complicated way that i don't think really needed to happen. (they could have used one of the people from the normal covert team that was in on it and accomplished all the same stuff in a lot faster timeframe)

[–] calikidd2k 13 years ago

I think they did it like this because they didn't want to burn anyone.

Something this big would have to come from an inside man, and if they made one of their own people fake going rogue it would be doubted. However if they fed it to someone who they knew was really a spy in the end it was such a blatant lie it would be clear they knew he was a spy and they couldn't use him to feed less obvious false intel anymore.

But she was someone they found had been hired just to spy on them so anything she "found" would be trusted and they knew she was planning her own double cross, so they knew they wouldn't be able to use her anymore in the future anyway, so they went big.

"Be ashamed to die until you have won some victory for humanity"
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[–] angloo 13 years ago

Now I need an explanation for the explanation. I could not follow the last 30 minutes of the film and it ruined it for me. When the people conning and being conned are themselves conned, my brain starts frying.
I will NOT watch this movie again to fill in the gaps. I multiple-watch **only** those films which are well-written and which I CAN follow without having to look at the screen or my partner and ask "What the hell just happened?"
Tom Wilkinson and Paul Giamatti are excellent actors.
That does not save this film for me.

[–] Butterfly041532 13 years ago

lol I feel the same way.