Two romantically involved government operatives Claire Stenwick and Ray Koval team up to manipulate a race between opposing corporations to corner the market on a medical innovation that will reap huge profits and allow them to lead an extravagant lifestyle together. They find themselves on opposing sides as corporate spies; however, as they each try to outdo the other, neither one can decide how far to trust the other in this high-stakes game of cat-and-mouse.
Writing
Gilroy's non-linear script demands you pay attention or drown.
Acting
Roberts and Owen's snarling chemistry—sexy because it's *hostile*.
Production
Glossy locations from Dubai to Rome that scream 'stolen money aesthetic.'
Director
Tony Gilroy
Julia Roberts
Claire Stenwick
Clive Owen
Ray Koval
Tom Wilkinson
Howard Tully
Paul Giamatti
Richard Garsik
Tom McCarthy
Jeff Bauer
Denis O'Hare
Duke Monahan
Kathleen Chalfant
Pam Frailes
Wayne Duvall
Ned Guston
Carrie Preston
Barbara Bofferd
Oleg Stefan
Boris Fetyov
Rick Worthy
Dale Raimes
Khan Baykal
Dinesh Patel
Ulrich Thomsen
Big Swiss Suit
Christopher Denham
Ronny Partiz
Dan Daily
Garsik's Aid
Trivia, insights & behind the scenes
Gilroy wrote this fresh off Michael Clayton and originally conceived it as a much darker thriller before Roberts' casting shifted the tone.
The film's box office failure helped kill the mid-budget adult thriller; studios saw this and ran screaming to franchises. We're still paying for it.
US
