Tyler Perry’s Duplicity Parent Guide

When her best friend’s husband is fatally shot by a white police officer, Marley (Kat Graham) swings into action. An experienced Black attorney, with a track record of fighting the municipal government, Marley is determined to use her skills to get justice for Rodney (Joshua Adeyeye) and newly widowed Fela (Meagan Tandy).

As enraged residents protest and buildings burn, Marley throws herself into her work, with hopes of a quick settlement. The case initially appears open-and-shut: Rodney was shot when the police officer (Jimi Stanton) on the scene mistook his cell phone for a firearm. But as Marley digs deeper, the questions pile up. Fela’s journalist colleagues uncover disturbing information, anonymous tips come in, and the cop who shot Rodney has some startling evidence. Marley will have to rethink what she thinks she knows about the facts of the case and the people involved.

Tyler Perry’s Duplicity is a film that turns on a plot twist, so I can’t say more about the narrative. What I can say is that the plot twist isn’t difficult to see coming – I had it figured out less than halfway through, which sucks a lot of tension out of the film. And that’s a problem, because mystery dramas like this live and die on tension. They also require a good, eerie soundtrack, which this movie doesn’t have. In fact, the soundtrack is missing-in-action for much of the film, intensifying the afternoon-TV vibe generated by the lazy cinematography. Compelling acting would also help, but we don’t get to see that either. Kat Graham is emoting her heart out but the dialogue is so awful that it can be hard for scenes to feel real.

Given that this is a show based on a wrongful death, it’s not surprising that there are violent scenes. People are shot and die on screen, and there are images of blood spurting from wounds. In addition, a woman is attacked, choked, and forcibly sedated before an attempted murder. There are also minor scenes involving alcohol and tobacco use but the film’s other big content issue is profanity, with over two dozen sexual expletives and a mixed bag of scatological curses, minor profanities, and racial slurs (used by Black characters). It’s not great, but it’s well within the norm for a murder plot.

Regular readers of this website know that I’ve never been a big fan of Tyler Perry thanks to his awful Madea franchise. Duplicity is at least better than those films, which isn’t saying much – but it’s the best I’ve got.