Diksha Sundriyal
Directed by Tyler Perry, Prime Video’s ‘Duplicity’ follows the story of Marley Wells, a successful attorney who faces the most difficult case of her life following a police shooting. The victim of the shooting is Rodney Blackburn, who was like a brother to Marley. He was also the husband of Fela, Marley’s best friend, so the intensity of the loss is doubled for her. As Marley prepares to sue the city for wrongful death on behalf of her friend, she discovers that there is more to the story about the circumstances surrounding Rodney’s death, and what comes out in the end is not something she will like. The mystery thriller film taps into relevant issues, and the duplicity involved with the characters makes one wonder whether someone could really do all those things in real life.
Tyler Perry Concocted a Fictional Premise to Explore the Abuse of System
Written by Tyler Perry, ‘Duplicity’ is an entirely fictional story with all the characters, including Marley Wells, being made up to serve the plot. It begins with an innocent Black man dying as a result of a white cop shooting him. Unfortunately, this is an all too familiar scenario for the audience, and it was the same for Perry as well. He called the writing and directing of Rodney’s death scene one of the most difficult parts of the film, which is one of the reasons why he didn’t want the story to be about a real person. Due to the gravity of the issue, he wanted to explore the story from a fictional lens rather than borrow something from the life of a real victim and spin it into something other than reality.
While racism and police brutality are major themes of the story, Perry’s primary intention was to write a thriller that would explore an extreme end of the situation where the fictional characters are using a major and highly important movement to benefit themselves. Marley, particularly, feels the brunt of all of this, and through her story, Perry wanted to focus on the fact that, no matter what the situation, justice must always be served. The intention of making her a lawyer was to follow her perspective on the ways that the legal system can be exploited by bad people while also harming the ones who are actually trying to do some good.
Trust issues emerge as another relevant theme of the story. The writer-director described the process of creating and fleshing out the fictional characters as a fun exercise as they all turn out to be incredibly twisted. He even went on to confess that he wishes never to come across such people in real life. At the end of the day, Perry wanted the audience to take away these issues with them and seriously consider what it means to truly trust someone. He was particularly inspired by the mystery thrillers of the 80s and the 90s, in which the twists keep coming, keeping the audience on their toes throughout the film. Above all, he wished for the audience to be thoroughly entertained while also pondering important questions about trust and truth.
Read More: Where is Tyler Perry’s Duplicity Filmed?
