‘Duplicity,’ directed by Tyler Perry and recently released on Prime Video, is a thrilling movie exploring racial profiling, domestic violence, and a skeptical media.
The film featured Kat Graham as Marley, Meagan Tandy as Fela, Tyler Lepley as Tony, and RonReaco Lee as Kevin. This intense, suspenseful film keeps the audience on their feet.
‘Duplicity’ is about an attorney named Marley fighting for a wrongful death by police of a black man named Rodney Blackburn (Joshua Adeyeye).
Marley leads a case against a white officer Caleb (Jimi Stanton), who shot Rodney multiple times. Fela, who is Rodney’s wife, is in despair and wants to make the city and police pay for the death of her husband.
Marley is determined to find out the truth and reach a settlement. She works with Sam (Nick Barrotta) and Shannon (Shannon LaNier) to discover the shocking truth behind the murder.
Highs
The storyline of this film was intriguing and kept the audience in suspense, wondering about the motive behind the murder of Rodney. It may be portrayed as a simple motive, but it turns into something shocking.
The portrayal of Marley is strong and fierce, and Graham puts all the emotions into this character. She shows how much pain she is in seeing her friend Rodney shot for no reason.
Graham is known for her ‘The Vampire Diaries’ character Bonnie, and in this film, she uses the same despair. Her acting has grown and is impressive as she portrays a powerful attorney.
The portrayal of Fela was full of heartbreak and emotion. Tandy brings out the true despair of a widow. Scenes in which she is screaming at officers are assertive, and they show how much pain her character is in.
The plot twists of this film were unexpected, and they took a complete twist. The ending was incredibly portrayed and was the biggest plot twist. It was thrilling and intrigued the audience, especially when it came to the white officer Caleb and his reasoning for his motive behind the killing.
Kevin was a questionable and strange character. He would pretend to be a good guy when, in reality, there was another truth to be uncovered.
The investigation of Rodney’s death was captivating, especially with the help of Sam and Shannon. These men seemed determined to help Marley and showed the most genuine interactions. Marley's teamwork with these two brought out the bond and showed that there are good people in the media.
Lows
There were minimal lows in this film, considering how thrilling it was. The main low was Tony. He seemed like an innocent character who loved Marley, but that soon changed. The narrative also seemed hard to follow because multiple intense themes were happening all at once.
The elements of these themes involving police brutality were underdeveloped. The central theme was that the wrongful death of Rodney had a missing element. The motive behind his death was unclear and complicated.
Verdict
‘Duplicity’ is worth the watch considering how suspenseful it is and the intense themes portrayed. This film captures the truth behind wrongful police deaths and how the media can spiral.
Rating: 8 out of 10
Mariam Fakhreddine is a film and theater reviewer for The Eastern Echo. She has worked as a news and features reporter for The Echo for two years.
