By Chlotrudis Independent Film Society
Director: George Clooney
Starring: Drew Barrymore | George Clooney | Julia Roberts | Sam Rockwell
Country: canada, germany, united_states
Year: 2002
Running time: 113
IMDB: http://us.imdb.com/Details?0290538
Hilary says: “I think Steven Soderbergh should be quite flattered: George Clooneys directorial debut, CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND, is a tribute to his work. Clearly the films they’ve done together have had a great influence on Clooney. Stylistically, the way the filters are used to indicate the mood and the location of the scenes is right out of OUT OF SIGHT and TRAFFIC. The cast including Clooney himself, Julia Roberts and cameos from Brad Pitt and Matt Damon gives one the feeling that casting for CONFESSIONS was done on breaks from Soderbergh’s OCEAN’S ELEVEN. Luckily I really enjoy Soderbergh’s
work (except for last year’s inexcusable vanity piece FULL FRONTAL) so this did not diminish my enjoyment of this film.
“I’ve spoken before about my love of the biopic and this one was not an exception. I was quite curious going into it, having recently listened to Chuck Barris reading of his ‘unauthorized autobiography’ and heard Clooney discuss his approach to the film in terms of the central question of the truth behind Barris account of his own life. Clooney celebrates the VERY fine line between fantasy and reality that exists in Barris story. His claims of balancing the life of a successful TV producer with contract work
as a CIA assassin-for-hire is so bizarre that it seems just as likely to be true as not, a notion this film exploits beautifully.
“Sam Rockwell shines as Barris. I could’ve done with a few less shots of his bare backside, but that is my only real complaint. I think he captures the real dichotomy of Barris character: deeply shy and thoroughly obnoxious, consumed by failure and unbelievably successful. His slouchy stance and floppy hats pulled down over his face show that he’s not comfortable in his own skin. I think Rockwell was a good choice both for the strength of his performance and also because he is not so familiar that he was unbelievable playing a biographic role. (Something that I think worked similarly for Greg Kinnear in AUTO-FOCUS.)
“For once Drew Barrymore’s flakiness is a plus in the role of Penny Pacino, Barris on-and-off-again love (who is actually a Barris-styled amalgamation of many women from his past). Pennys styles and interest change with the weather, but her devotion to Barris is pathetically unwavering. Julia Roberts gives another one-note performance playing Patricia, a fellow CIA assassin and sometime lover of Chuck’s. Slight spoiler: As a Bostonian I was disappointed by her on-screen demise, because in the book he claims to have bumped her off following a stroll through the city and dinner at The Union Oyster House. However, all the locations in the movie are deliberately vague, more theatrical sets than actual cities, so better not to make a strong visual identification with a specific place.
“In all, a thoroughly entertaining exploration of artifice, as viewed through the life of one of the masters of the craft.”