Confidence
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Movie Reviews of Confidence
Movie Review: When The Con Is On, It Scores!
Summary: 3 Stars
Any con-artist will tell you that in order for any con to work no matter how big or small you have to gain the victim or the mark's confidence. Otherwise your target will see right through you and know he's being lead on. James Foley's "Confidence" knows this key ingredient and the movie gets our confidence and manipulates us.I love, absolutely love con movies. I think most people find it fascinating to see how these people work. To see the cons unfold right before our eyes. Con movies often possess the same qualities a con-artist should. They are sleek and sneaky. Some con movies rank among my favorites. Take "The Grifters", or the works of David Mamet and films like "House of Games", "The Spanish Prisoner", and "Heist". And speaking of Mamet, "Confidence" remind us of his work. Foley directed "Glengarry Glenn Ross". But, "Confidence" doesn't seem to come off as polished. I don't care what anyone tells me I think Mamet's dialogue is dead on. But, Doug Jung, the writter of this movie, doesn't seem to have the sparkle Mamet does.
"Confidence" had me going along with it the first 2\3 of the movie. The final acts "seems" to fall apart. We start to question the actions the characters make. And yet again this leads us back to Mamet again and a theme and in fact a line that always shows up in his work, "Can you ever really trust anyone"?
"Confidence" starts off nicely, it's told in flashback form. We see a con in progress. Jake Vig (Edward Burns) and his team, including Gordo (Paul Giamatti) and Miles (Brian Van Holt) are conning a guy out of a large amount of money. The con seems to go well, until, someone dies. That my friends, is never a good sign. It seems the guy they conned was carring money that didn't belong to him, but instead belonged to "King" (Dustin Hoffman, who is truly one of the highpoints of the movie). King, naturally wants his money back. And soon Jake makes a deal with King to get back his share. The plan is to con Morgan Price (Robert Forster from "Jackie Brown"). Price is a ... bussiness man who King has something against. Only problem is, it's just about impossible to con him. So Jake gets together a new team including Lily (Rachel Weisz) and Lupus (Franky G.) who works for King.
"Confidence" is one of those movies where you should walk into it knowing nothing. Not to worry, I didn't give away any vital information. I've only told you what you've probably seen in the trailers.
Now, is this movie worth seeing? I don't think a large part of the audience will enjoy it. As I said the first 2\3 of the movie is entertaining and the third act has problems. But, everything is resolved, only, I wish the conclusion would of come about differently. I also didn't like the fact that the story was told in flashback. When the movie is just telling it's story that's when it's at it's best. When it's dealing with the flashback set-up, it doesn't seem "correct". Something about it seems phoney to me. I just felt it wouldn't really be handle that way. But, a big surprise is going to happen. If "Confidence" would of kept going on the track it started for itself, it could of been one of the year's best movies. But, "Confidence" is conning itself. It's payoff just felt like it's cheating us. Some may be extremely disappointed, others, may love it. But, I didn't really buy it.
So why does the movie work? Because it is directed with a lot of style. James Foley really tells the story in an interesting way. And the acting is quite good and at moments, great. Rachel Weisz and Burn may not have much chemistry onscreen together, but, they do have a lot of charm. They keep the movie going. And like I said Hoffman is a highlight. His role slows down as the movie goes along, but, when he is onscreen it's a pleasure. "Confidence" has good points to it which makes it hard for me to totally bash the movie. There is real craft here and it shows. I just wished they could of worked on that third act!
Bottom-line: Entertaining con movie that may not hit the level of films by Mamet, but still brings somethng to the table. Fine acting and impressive directing is the film's saving grace.
Movie Review: Confidence (2003)
Summary: 3 Stars
Director: James Foley
Cast: Edward Burns, Rachel Weisz, Morris Chestnut, Leland Orser, Louis Lombardi, Paul Giamatti, Brian Van Holt, Donal Logue, Luis Guzman, Dustin Hoffman, Andy Garcia.
Running Time: 97 minutes
Rated R for language, violence and sexuality/nudity.
On the rare occasions when some movie comes along that breaks the rules of the Hollywood caper film (such as "Memento"), we usually get cinematic excellence. But with "Confidence", don't be expecting any deviation from the format. "Confidence" is a fun, enjoyable, light caper movie. It doesn't pretend to be anything else and for what it is, it's not half bad. Jake Vig (Edward Burns, in a rare short haired appearance) is a deeply skilled grifter who has just pulled off a major score with his crew (including Paul Giamatti and Brian Van Holt). Trouble is, the loot belonged to a major criminal kingpin (Dustin Hoffman), who wants Jake to pull a job for him to make up the difference. Looking at a potential con that will net all the participants over 5 million dollars, Jake recruits a shadowy woman (Rachel Weisz from "The Mummy") to the team, and they set off to make the score. On their tail is a federal agent (Andy Garcia), who has past ties to Jake, and who won't stop until he makes sure Jake is behind bars for good.
Written by Doug Jung, "Confidence" delivers everything you'd expect: the tough guys, the kooky criminal mastermind, the femme fatale, crooked cops, and a every line of dialog punctuated with the F-word. This is tired material, but director James Foley ("Glengarry Glen Ross") gets the momentum moving early, and his storytelling is stylish and inoffensive. He pulls out every trick in the book to keep the barge afloat, and he's more successful than not. `Confidence' wouldn't turn too many heads in a crowded room, but as con films go, this is entertaining filmmaking and features a willing cast. Dustin Hoffman easily notches his bedpost and steals the entire movie from the rest of the decent ensemble cast and leaves them spinning wheels in a predicable grift caper, while Burns and Weisz are adequate in the lead roles.
Even with all the smooth, hip con artist moves to watch, "Confidence" ultimately becomes so aware of audience participation, that it piles on the double-crosses, time switches, and multiple characters just to keep people guessing. Technically, it isn't terribly hard to figure out certain things that the film assumes to be fooling everyone, but in taking on such a twisty story, Foley loses the appeal that was there in the opening of the film, when things are a lot more streamlined. The overcompensation needed to keep the audience on their toes is too much, so when characters meet their ultimate fates, the expected reactions just aren't there. The audience is left behind, trying to keep it all together. For fans of stylish thieves and wacky criminals, this might be the umpteenth trip around the maypole with this plot, but it's a reasonable one worth a look.
Movie Review: As in chess, you needs to see 20 moves ahead in the game
Summary: 3 Stars
CONFIDENCE (2003) is a hit for audiences who can find a way in
themselves to laugh at the misfortune of those who make wrong
decisions, costing them thousands, purely from the blindness of their
greed, and engage in unusual business deals.
Although Edwards Burns is reminiscent of Ben Affleck, and Rachel
Weisz of Melanie Griffith, the charm they project to the cameras, is
natural, and convincing.
The editing is a strong point in this movie, because it keeps the
audience on its toes, the action upbeat, the attention spans wide
open as the story unfolds in a clear, understandable manner.
A lot of effort was put in the script, clearly, in terms of the
number of short funny phrases, and in the semi-serious narrative. As
said, there's a pleasure, excitement and personal presence projected
by every single one of the actors that raises the picture a notch or
two.
The soundtrack is upbeat, cool and brings a relaxation ambience to
the underlying action, very well done.
The filming is excellent, showing a wide spectrum of sharp sequences
indoors and outdoors, variety of pastel colors in a number of scenes,
contrasted with black and while in other moments, to change the mood
of viewers. The wide-screen brings a theatrical feeling to the home
viewer.
There's perhaps an excessive effort in educating viewers in
terminology , touching upon a mark, shill, roper, insider, score,
fix, Belize offshore, money laundering, setting up a shell
corporation, arranging for a loan, but this is not surprising
considering the need for a all viewers to accompany the action. The
subtitles may also help, for those not familiar with some jargon.
An unfortunate aspect, is the excessive comfort of the story teller
with the actual behavior being done, such that some might see it
condoned, from the lack of addressing the moral implications
involved.
Also, every single person in the movie seems to be on the take, which
seems unnecessarily unrealistic or simplistic.
Andy Garcia brings in a semi-comical, very professional, low-key
performance in playing the role, as someone whose intentions are
hard to perceive.
Overall, from every standpoint, most audiences will find this DVD
entertaining. "As in chess, you needs to see 20 moves ahead in the
game."
Movie Review: Great-looking, occasionally interesting, but too mundane.
Summary: 3 Stars
"Confidence" is movie about the mechanics of conmen, but not their mystery. It's a tutorial, and that's the hitch. What it should show, it tells. Cons are like magic: Offer the secret and the audience just waits for the shoe to drop -- and not with much anticipation. The title sequence tips the hand: it's directed with style by James Foley, but our con guide Jake Vig, played with smarts (but little charm) by Edward Burns, speaks right into the camera, inviting us inside the game. It's a nice gesture from screenwriter Doug Jung, but a basic betrayal of the genre -- if the audience isn't one of the marks, what's the point?
Vig runs an LA crew (Paul Giamatti and Brian Van Holt) that scores by staging murders during phony drug deals; they rip off the accountant of a local crime boss, The King (Dustin Hoffman), a hyperactive creep doubling as a strip club owner. Vig proposes a new con that cuts in The King for the money he's owed, plus a chunk. A smoky vamp (Rachel Weisz) is brought onboard as bait.
The job is explained once, then again, then executed just about as it was explained. The con itself, involving a bank executive (Robert Forster) and a phony startup company, is pretty mundane, Jung has an idea to backload the suspense -- will the con work? -- but it's a movie, and Edward Burns is the lead, and since when does Edward Burns not get a good cut from the deck? He even survived in "Saving Private Ryan." Will it work? Is there change in the washing machine?
The performances are hit and miss. Hoffman is very good. Maybe too good -- by The King's second appearance, repulsion bursts from the screen. Burns plays his Vig closer to the real thing, but somehow that's less filling -- Vig seems to be working a proof, not a score. Burns was once a can't-miss prospect for actor-director stardom; anymore, he's cast for his looks more than his talent. Andy Garcia is also onboard in a cameo as a sleazy federal agent tailing Vig, doing some ludicrous parody of Al Pacino's performance in "Heat." He's never been worse.
Foley, the director, is acquitted --"Confidence" looks fantastic, and some scenes play better than they have any right to, as Foley bounces the camera around to loosen up dry, talky sequences. The King's sex den is nicely conceived, as is Vig clubhouse where most of the scheming plays out.
It's a fine setting for a good noir yarn. If only the movie were a yarn, instead of a how-to booklet.
Movie Review: style over substance
Summary: 3 Stars
In "Confidence," writer Doug Jung and director James Foley have fashioned a stylish, if conventional, tale of con men and drifting grifters, one that plays by all the rules yet still manages to throw us for a loop every now and then.There's not much point in belaboring the film's complex and convoluted plot. Suffice it to say that there isn't a whole lot that's original here - i.e. criminal double crosses criminal ad infinitum with predictable results - but the writing, acting and directing combine to make for a relatively diverting time for people who just can't get enough of these "Sting"/"Usual Suspects"-type knockoffs. Jung's script emphasizes humor over violence and keeps us guessing most of the time, even though, when all is said and done, the film doesn't really amount to much. By far the most interesting character in the film is the man who goes by the name of "King," a crime boss who is bisexual, suffers from ADD and rails against the crudity of life even when he is choreographing illicit sex acts for his nightclub or issuing orders for the rubbing out of an inconvenient rival. Dustin Hoffman chews up the scenery in the role, giving full rein to all the twitches and tics that have long defined his repertoire as an actor. Hoffman rivets our attention so much in the few scenes in which he appears that the rest of the movie almost inevitably suffers a bit when he isn't on screen.
Nevertheless, Edward Burns is so smooth, sly and alluring as the handsome young con man that we come to understand how innocent victims can so easily fall under the spell of his not inconsiderable charms. He receives superb support from the likes of Rachel Weisz, Andy Garcia, Paul Giamatti, Franky G and the always-reliable Luis Guzman.
Despite the fact that "Confidence" never digs very far beneath its own shallow surface, the filmmakers keep the movie interesting by employing an intriguing dual-level structure, moving back and forth in time with relative ease and fluidity. The movie has a cool, hip look that polishes over its relative emptiness.