Great Film: Confidence
Formulaic but fun
There's this rule in Hollywood that may be unwritten but is nonetheless
ironclad: stick to the formula. The hero can't die in a romantic
comedy. The drama can't be too funny, and the comedy can't be too sad.
Action flicks can't be too deep, and "serious" movies have to be
somewhat boring.
On the rare occasions when some movie comes along that breaks these
rules, 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.
Edward Burns plays a con man, Jake Vig. Together with his crew of
seasoned, confident fellow con men, he scams people out of money. Lots
of money. And of course, sooner or later he's bound to pick the wrong
person to scam. In this case it's a seemingly innocuous accountant who
just happens to work for a mob kingpin, cheesily called "the King" (but
played brilliantly by Dustin Hoffman). In a tight spot, Jake agrees to
do a con and split the proceeds with the King, to get him off his back.
What follows is the usual series of crosses, double-crosses, and
triple-crosses while everyone tries to figure out who to trust and
who's about to screw who over.
When I say that Confidence follows the rules, I mean it. Crime capers
must have wise-talking characters. This does. Crime capers must be
stylish. This is. Crime capers must have the token female, whose role
is to be sexy but not too sexy. Rachel Weisz fills the part here, and
does a decent job at it. (Other such token women included Julia Roberts
in Ocean's Eleven, and Angela Bassett in The Score). Crime capers must
make the audience scratch their heads trying to piece it all together,
but must not make them think about any deeper moral issues of right and
wrong. Again, Confidence lives up to that deal on both counts.
Still, it was fun escapist entertainment. And, without giving away too
much of the ending, let's just say that I'm always impressed with a
movie that manages to surprise me. That alone makes it worth seeing.
Cast
- Officer Omar Manzano (as Luis Guzman) played by Luis Guzmán
- Jake Vig played by Edward Burns
- Miles played by Brian Van Holt
- Officer Lloyd Whitworth played by Donal Logue
- Gordo played by Paul Giamatti
- Lily played by Rachel Weisz
- Travis played by Morris Chestnut
