Well, Tyler Perry has done it again. “Duplicity,” yet another soap opera-esque drama from the writer-director, made its way to Prime Video on Thursday. Of course, it’s a wild turn of events that only Perry could conjure up. Perhaps he’s the only person who can make sense of it, too, because the plot unravels into a web of lies that’ll leave your head spinning with questions.
Thankfully, the movie doesn’t start off with much confusion. It first follows high-powered attorney Marley (Kat Graham) on her most personal case yet: the fatal police shooting of her best friend Fela’s (Meagan Tandy) husband (Joshua Adeyeye) in what appears to be the death of another unarmed Black man. That situation goes over how many would expect: civil unrest among local residents, administrative leave for the involved officer, pending a settlement, and a political case for the mayor’s office to sort through before the whole town boils over.
Marley gets some assistance from her former cop-turned-private investigator boyfriend (Tyler Lepley) and his friend Kevin (RonReaco Lee). But just as they close the book on the case, secrets start to surface and true colors are revealed, leading Marley down a maze of deception and betrayal to find out what really caused the shooting.
If the plot is starting to sound complicated, that’s because it is and for no rhyme or reason.
“Duplicity” is essentially two movies in one, and neither feels fully developed. That wouldn’t be a first for one of Perry’s films, but the trend is getting rather annoying. In this chat below, we try to make sense of the legal thriller and break down the plot twist we never saw coming.
Let’s Talk About The Cast And Performances
Compared to many of Tyler Perry’s newer projects, I didn’t have a huge issue with the acting in “Duplicity.” Well, not until some of the dialogue got in the way (more on that later). The most notable names in the cast are Kat Graham, Tyler Lepley and RonReaco Lee. I also recognized Meagan Tandy from her stint on Starz’s “Survivor’s Remorse.” For the most part, they all did a fairly decent job. Trust I’ve seen worse from Perry’s other films (last summer’s “Divorce in the Black” immediately comes to mind).
As for the characters the cast plays, we’ve seen them all before. Graham stars as determined attorney Marley, who’s hellbent on getting to the bottom of the mysterious police shooting that claims the life of her best friend’s husband. Lepley plays Marley’s seemingly “perfect” boyfriend, Tony, a private investigator who’s also looking into the shooting. But, of course, there’s more to him than meets the eye. Lee plays Kevin, one of the officers involved in the tragic incident, who just so happens to be friends with Tony and Marley. There’s nothing particularly surprising about these characters until Perry decides to unravel them by the movie’s end, which leads to my frustrations with this conundrum of a film. — Njera
I think all the actors were solid in the film, but the writing was just so overwrought that I kept being like, “what are they even talking about?” “What is even happening?” I love Tyler Lepley because he is nice to look at and he had me fooled in this role, for sure. Kat Graham has been in a bunch of Christmas movies that I love to hate. Jimi Stanton is a really strong actor and it was interesting seeing him in this role, which seems like the polar opposite from his role in “Your Honor,” where he is pretty cutthroat. And well, I think RonReaco Lee deserves his own section for this film. — Erin
RonReaco Lee As A Villain
Jimi Stanton and RonReaco Lee in Tyler Perry’s “Duplicity.”
I love when Lee pops up in a film or TV show. He’s a solid actor who can pretty much do anything: he can make you laugh, he can take on dramatic roles and hell, he’s nice to look at, too. Color me surprised that he can make a really good villain, too. I’m so used to him playing the good guy like on “Sister, Sister” or the husband role like on “First Wives Club.” It’s not that he’s never played a bad guy — his role on Carl Weber’s “The Family Business” is pretty nefarious. But this was all out crazy. It completely threw me for a loop when I realized what his character had been up to in this film — even though I’m still not even sure how to describe how all his antics lead to this mysterious and confusing plotline. — Erin
Agreed, Erin. I’m so used to seeing Lee play those more calm, level-headed roles that his villain arc in “Duplicity” completely threw me for a loop. It startled me at first, but he was actually a convincing villain. In fact, I kind of bought into it once I remembered all the subtle breadcrumbs “Duplicity” dropped throughout. Like when the bodycam footage of the shooting showed that Kevin didn’t try to save Fela’s husband. Or when he basically threw his fellow officer under the bus for said shooting. By the time he ran into Marley and Tony, who were lurking around his house for clues (well, at least one of them), I knew something was up. But, man, I did not think things would get as crazy as they did. — Njera
The Film Inexplicably Uses A Police Shooting As A Plot Device
What was frustrating about this film — like many other Tyler Perry projects — is that its premise leaves me questioning how this movie actually got greenlit. I don’t think police shootings should be off-limits to fictionalized stories on-screen, but they at least need to make sense and say something about the pervasive culture of police violence. This film didn’t actually manage to say anything smart about it. So why use this as a plot device? Make it make sense. — Erin
I have my qualms about police shooting movie plots when they’ve been overdone time and time again. Once I figured out what chaotic direction “Duplicity” was heading toward, I questioned how necessary this premise was to the thriller-suspense of it all, because this movie definitely could’ve existed without it. The fact that it moves so far away from the shooting before the movie even ends is proof of that. And if this plot device was so “necessary,” we certainly didn’t need the graphic visual of the shooting of another unarmed Black man. Too many of those already exist, unfortunately.
I found it interesting that Perry, in a recent interview, spoke about being “tired of people hijacking these important messages and turning them into something nefarious that they can use for themselves.” Yet it seems like he did just that with “Duplicity”? To tackle such a controversial ongoing social issue and not make it the film’s sole focus feels like a disservice to the subject itself. — Njera
It’s Not A Tyler Perry Film Without A Plot Twist
RonReaco Lee, Kat Graham and Tyler Lepley in Tyler Perry’s “Duplicity.”
Listen, every time I think a Tyler Perry film can’t get any more insane, he outdoes himself. “Duplicity” was almost a decent movie. However, I should’ve known the thriller wouldn’t be complete without some wacky twist to blow it all up. Just when we thought everyone had moved on from the police shooting, Marley gets kidnapped by the faulted officer, who tells her the real reason why the incident took place, and it all leads back to Kevin being the real perpetrator. Not to mention, Tony and Fela were in on the plan the entire time! That I did not see coming.
I’m still trying to process the point behind their master plan and make sense of everything in between. It doesn’t help that the three of them have a whole dialogue on the boat explaining their ploy, and I’m still confused. That’s where the movie kinda falls apart for me because it’s trying to add soap opera dynamics too late into the plot just for the sake of making things complex, which in turn just makes for a frustrating watch.
Also, a note for the storyline: If the characters themselves have to tell audiences exactly what’s happening to make sure they understand, then it’s probably not a good storyline to follow. — Njera
It’s that last part that was so frustrating! Why was there so much exposition at a pivotal part in the movie? If you have to tell us and can’t show us, then, quite frankly, you have not actually successfully made a movie. And look, Perry has already called out highbrow critics like us who have negative things to say about his films. But damn, I have engaged with his work for over 20 years at this point. I’d like to see some growth where I can see how his storytelling has evolved for the better. It doesn’t seem like that’s actually happening. It upsets me! — Erin
This Boat Scene Surely Does Seem Familiar
I cannot tell you a thing about what actually happened in “Acrimony” other than there was a boat scene with Taraji P. Henson that still has me questioning who conjured up such a plotline. — Erin
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The way I rolled my eyes when Marley went over the boat with the anchor. That’s quite literally how “Acrimony” — another wild Tyler Perry concoction — ends. Never mind how Marley manages to escape that, kill everybody on the boat and live to tell the tale. This has already been done before, so why are we revisiting plot points, especially from the same director? Just like the police shooting narrative, this also felt like an unnecessary part of the movie. — Njera
Also, how the hell did she hold her breath under water that long? Please. — Erin
Tyler Perry’s “Duplicity” is available to stream on Prime Video.
