Release Date: April 25, 2003
Starring: Edward Burns, Rachel Weisz, Andy Garcia, Dustin Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Morris Chestnut
Directed by: James Foley
Written by: Doug Jung
Distributed by: Lions Gate Films
MPAA Rating: R (language, violence, sexuality, brief nudity)
Early in Confidence, Dustin Hoffman’s character shares an anecdote with a cocky, young con artist, and the moral of the story is: “Style can get you killed.”
Perhaps fearing the same gruesome result, the film's director, James Foley, doesn't aim for style points in this film. But it definitely doesn’t hurt his snappy caper flick, which feels like a mix between the work of David Mamet and Steven Soderbergh. Though it isn’t quite as good as that combination might really be, Confidence is complex, witty, and well-acted enough to be considered a worthy imitation of the sharp films of those contemporary auteurs.
The screenplay by television writer Doug Jung is impressive on its own, as it throws in plenty of colorful charactes, plot twists, and witty dialogue from the very beginning. “So, I’m dead,” says our young con artist, Jake Vig (Burns), as the lights go up. He proceeds to tell his story through a series of flashbacks, all of which involve elaborate schemes of deceit. But he and his crew find themselves in trouble with a mob boss called the King (Hoffman) when they unknowingly steal a large sum of his money. To repay him and avoid the standard punishment of death, Vig promises to knock off a wealthy banker (Robert Forster) who happens to be one of the King’s competitors. A long series of cons follows, all while we know the story ends with Vig’s death.
The beauty of the story, though, is that through all of the collusion, it’s hard to trust even what the narrator has been telling us. Granted, this isn’t the first movie to rely largely on narrative deception, but the fresh writing and directing make this a forgiveable copycat. In fact, it has the same level of deceitfulness as Mamet films like Heist and The Spanish Prisoner; in both those films and Confidence, the story takes another big twist just when you think you’ve got it all figured out. It's no secret that the "twist" ending is in vogue these days, and the best way to ease the pain of viewers who are starting to get weary of such movies is to make everything else, from the characters to the cinematography, as interesting as possible.
Throughout Confidence, director Foley uses a good amount of vivid colors and smooth editing, and he gets the most from a solid cast. Burns slides into the lead role by practically playing himself, or at least many of the other characters we’ve seen him do before. His confidence (which, if you couldn’t tell, is essentially the theme of the movie) flows right into the part, making him invincible to the intimidation of Hoffman's dirty and restless mob boss. Andy Garcia (a tired and unshaven Federal agent), Paul Giamatti (a wise-cracking criminal), Luis Guzmán (a bumbling local cop), and Rachel Weisz (an attarctive pickpocket who may or may not have her own agenda) all deliver pleasing performances as well. They all fit nicely into the grand scheme, delivering clever lines (watch Edward Burns tell Dustin Hoffman to get his ADD under control) and pulling off sly cons (as when Burns and Weisz trick another man into buying them a pair of valuable earrings, just for practice).
Obviously, there's a lot of complexity to the film, but none of it is implausible. It’s just as fun to watch as 1996’s Sneakers and 2001’s The Score, two other recent and enjoyable genre exercises. Just be careful not to be overconfident while trying to figure things out in Confidence, because you may find the rug has been pulled out from beneath your feet. And that, of course, is whole point.
-- Andy Zientek (zfilm@earthlink.net)