Tyler Perry’s Duplicity: Rehashed, formulaic fodder from Perry
Directed by Tyler Perry
“How a person does one thing is how they do everything.”
Marley Wells
The quote from Marley Wells, our films protagonist states “How a person does one thing is how they do everything” (Perry 00:55:48). Director, writer, and producer Tyler Perry gave an apt description of the work he produces these days – formulaic cash grabs. Gone are the times when he dared to put minimal effort into the art he produces, instead he settles for low hanging fruit. He knows it will be consumed regardless. Recently released onto streaming platforms, Tyler Perry’s Duplicity is labeled as a mystery thriller. It follows the life of an attorney Marley Wells, who attempts to uncover the truth behind the shooting of her best friend, Fela Blackburn’s husband.
It sounds simple enough, except it isn’t. Instead of crafting a well-thought-out plot – we received a half-baked story about racial inequality, bad cops, and terrible people. The use of a racially charged, police shooting was not executed well. It failed to drive the plot forward due to the lack of detail. Given that these characters were so surface level, it leaves a disconnect between the viewers and the audience. A common pattern in a Tyler Perry Studios production is that he struggles to make his characters more than one dimensional. Along with this grapple to give them depth, there is a fight to give them individuality through dialogue. The script was on-the-nose and told us everything, yet we still knew nothing. No one talks like those characters in real life. Humans usually skirt around candor, unless this is a specific trait for a character. They either veil it with half-truths or never say anything at all. However, all of his characters possessed a knack for openness and honesty, except when he needed a bad guy.
The star of the film featured Kat Graham as Marley Wells, who is also known for her prominent role in The Vampire Diaries (2009 – 2017). She seemed to be the only one who tried her best to sell the role that she played. But even that proved to be a challenge, because everyone else struggled to find their footing. Fela Blackburn was played by Meagan Tandy, and she disregarded subtlety in her acting. It appears she was always aware of the camera. RonReaco Lee as Kevin and Tyler Lepley as Tony were not memorable because we knew next to nothing about them. Plot progression stagnated with speeches about advocating for justice, with no movement until the final act of the film. In a hasty attempt to wrap up all the loose ends, we are met with a convenient ending. It evokes a mixture of half surprise, and half “I knew that was going to happen.” Since the dialogue and plot failed them, I would have hoped other factors would save this disaster. Alas, my hopes were dashed. Every time they introduced a new location of the set design, it looked like an IKEA showroom. So pristine and fake – these characters feel as though they just appeared there. However, the directing was better quality than anything I have seen in his television shows. The cinematography also surpassed previous work.
I have no idea why Tyler Perry insists on producing these sub-par films. It is okay to bring in other writers and collaborators onto your project if you truly cared about quality. Maybe then there would be a resolve to the issues listed above. Duplicity is not a film that I would recommend for a watch, unless you want to waste your time.
The Island Cinephile 
