Bad things happen when good British or Australian actors are forced into laughably fake American accents. Poor Ewan McGregor ("Big Fish") and Hugh Jackman ("The Prestige") never had a chance in "Deception" - a rather sulky and vapid thriller that also stars Michelle Williams ("Brokeback Mountain").

Focusing on the events surrounding a lonely accountant's (McGregor) decision to trust a suave stranger (Jackman) to introduce him to the secret world of private sex clubs for New York City's rich and powerful, "Deception" is too brooding and evasive for its own good. Instead of inspiring a sense of excitement and awe, the film's many twists and contours are disappointingly measured and unambitious. As is often true of shoddy, one-trick thrillers, the entire premise becomes more and more predictable as the film progresses.

Jackman and McGregor make valiant attempts at rescuing material that would be iffy even at the TV-movie level. Jackman lifts the first half slightly, and McGregor succeeds to some extent in the slightly more entertaining second half of the film, but even then, the false (and completely unnecessary) American accents make poor writing sound even worse. Obnoxious theatrics leading to an altogether baffling ending seal this film's fate as a very bad attempt at a smart movie.

"Deception"

Rating: 1 and a half out of 5 stars

Twentieth Century Fox

At Quality 16 and Showcase