Confessions of a Dangerous Mind

Since "ER" George Clooney has been a very popular actor, mainly because so many women find him very attractive. But through the years he has been able to prove that he's more than just a pretty face in the crowd. He has acted in many popular movies and did it pretty well in most of them. But being a good actor doesn't mean that you are automatically a good director as well of course. So before seeing "Confessions of a Dangerous Mind", his debut as a director, I had my doubts...

This time we don't get to see Clooney very often in the movie itself. We only get to see him a couple of times as the CIA agent who has hired the game show impresario and producer Chuck Barris (Sam Rockwell). During the day Chuck invents game shows like 'The Dating Game', 'The Newlywed Game' and 'The Gong Show'... Shows that are all very successful, because they are easy to understand and fun to watch. But next to his regular day job he is also a CIA assassin. At least, that's what HE claims to be...

I must say that Clooney has done a very nice job in his debut as a director. He has added a nice surreal tone to this movie which makes it even harder to understand whether all this really happened or not. And even though this is a bio-pic, it is never hard to keep watching it or to stay focused. Thanks to the light and satirical feeling in it, this movie stays fun to watch from the beginning until the end. Of course without the interesting story and the good acting by all of his main actors Clooney wouldn't have been able to make this movie. Withouth them this movie wouldn't be the same and might even have been awful to watch. Especially Drew Barrymore was a lot better than I had expected. She never really convinced me in her other movies that I saw, but this time she's really good as Barris Sweetheart. And Clooney himself was interesting to watch as well. Even though he could be found more behind than in front of the camera, he still proves to be a talented actor.

Overall this is an interesting and fun movie. Certainly because it is Clooney's debut as a director. The man sure has a lot of talents and I'm already looking forward to his next movie as a director / actor. I give this one a 7.5/10.

While quite very obviously a well crafted lie sold as truth this movie does not fail to entertain and was one of the more underrated films of the year of it's release. A commercial failure the film was re-released later based on word of mouth buzz. This film appeals to a fringe audience that remains just out of reach of mainstream films. What do you expect from a screenplay written by Charlie Kaufmann? This film is a telling of the story of Chuck Barris, creator of various TV shows and all around uncomfortable guy. Barris holds many stations in life, TV producer, songwriter and CIA assassin. The meat of this story is not so much in his occupations but the mental condition and back story of Barris throughout the film. With something lurking just below the surface of an ambiguous nature you aren't certain if you should root for Barris or despise him.

Through various twists and turns you follow what is one half mockumentary and one half spy thriller the film plays it very loose and fast and it let's your mind run wild and free without the burden of tension that a spy thriller would give. Definitely worth a watch if you enjoy strong acting performances mixed with offbeat plots.

Clooney takes what is basically a poor mans "THE KID STAYS IN THE PICTURE" and makes a very entertaining and watchable film with great acting and stylish but reigned in technique. Finally a someone takes the theory of taking a bad idea and making a fine film and makes good.

We all remember Chuck Barris as the creator of some of television's most successful - albeit notoriously mind-numbing - game shows: `The Dating Game,' `The Newlywed Game,' and `The Gong Show.' But did you know that he was also a hit man for the CIA? Well, that's what he claims, straight from his own `unauthorized autobiography' entitled `Confessions of a Dangerous Mind,' which has now been made into a movie by director George Clooney and writer Charlie Kaufman. Kaufman is known for devising elaborately absurd scenarios for his fictional films (`Being John Malkovich,' `Adaptation' etc.), yet even Kaufman, in his wildest fantasies, could not have come up with a more bizarre premise than the one this real life story affords. No wonder he was drawn to this material. They are a perfect fit. In the world of movies, who says fact isn't stranger than fiction?

In many ways, Barris was one of the men responsible for starting the trend towards `reality television' that so dominates network programming today. His most famous hits (especially `The Gong Show') were all based on the premise that millions of Americans would be willing to humiliate themselves in public for a few moments of fleeting fame – and that millions more would tune in to bear witness to the spectacle. Barris, craving fame himself, was simply savvy enough to plug into that national mood - and managed to make himself a fortune and turn himself into a household name in the process. What most of us didn't know about Barris at the time was that, while all this was going on, he was ostensibly leading a double life as a secret agent, tracking down and killing any number of `bad guys,' all in the name of `national security.'

Given the inherently incredible, jaw-dropping nature of the material, George Clooney, in his directorial debut, brings an appropriately surrealistic tone to the work. He employs a number of visual devices that help to fragment the world in which the story takes place. Certain scenes break through the constraints of time and space, as when Barris is talking on the phone in his apartment to an ABC executive, who is sitting in his office, and the two locations become one on the screen. The sense of dislocation this technique creates perfectly reflects the mental split occurring in Barris' own disturbed psyche. This style is further enhanced by the use of slightly off-kilter camera angles, color filtering and sepia tones in some of the shots. Scenarist Charlie Kaufman, as always, brings his own quirky vision to bear on the material. He cleverly balances the two `sides' of Barris' life, transitioning smoothly between those scenes revolving around his career as TV show producer and those revolving around his career as CIA operative. Moreover, Kaufman does a nice job getting inside the head of this man who is trying to fight the demons of his own past, make a name for himself in the high stakes world of network programming, cope with his own inadequacies as a person, and come to terms with the vile things he is doing in his secret life all at the same time.

As Barris, Sam Rockwell gives a terrific, high-energy performance, capturing the sadness and paranoia of a man who seems to know deep down inside that his fame is probably undeserved, built as it is on mediocre ideas and a willingness to exploit the baser instincts of human nature. Drew Barrymore brings her usual charm to the role of Penny, Barris' one true love and the only person genuinely drawn to Barris as a person, even though he is unable to commit himself to her fully, preferring instead to keep the relationship `casual' and uncommitted. Barris finds it impossible to make a real, meaningful connection to another human being, so twisted has he become in his value system and bizarre lifestyle. Rounding out the cast are Clooney himself, as the mysterious CIA agent who draws Barris into this strange netherworld of intrigue and danger, Rutger Hauer, as a fellow hit man who pours out his feelings about his chosen occupation to Barris, Julia Roberts, as the icy cool CIA operative who pops up at various moments and in various places to keep an eye on the young recruit, and even Brad Pitt and Matt Damon, who show up for a truly hilarious cameo appearance together, one that had the audience at the screening I attended howling with delight.

The $64,000 question becomes, of course, is this story even remotely true, or is it merely another case of this master showman's playing the public for all its worth? I haven't the slightest idea. The filmmakers certainly take it all very seriously, as evidenced by the fact that they have various friends and business acquaintances of Barris (Dick Clark, Jay P. Morgan) providing interviews for the film, interviews which hint at the dark possibility that the basis of the story might indeed be factual, given the kind of person these people claim Barris is. This gives the film a kind of pseudo-documentary realism that heightens the verisimilitude of what we are seeing on screen. Whether the film is really a true story or merely a grand lark perpetrated on an increasingly credulous audience, the fact is that `Confessions of a Dangerous Mind' turns out to be a thoroughly entertaining, utterly loony piece of original filmmaking.

`Confessions of a Dangerous Mind' marks an auspicious debut for Clooney as a director, who, in his work behind the camera, demonstrates a thorough command of vision and style. One looks forward to his next endeavor.

"Confessions of a Dangerous MInd' was excellent and I'm surprised it doesn't receive more credit.

The story is an 'autobiographical' tale of TV producer Chuck Barris (Sam Rockwell) who doubles as a CIA-assassin. The movie is based on the book with the same name and the beauty is that no one knows if Barris made up this story or if the events are true. Regardless of its reality or not, the film is a tremendous example of great movie making.

This is an all-star movie. George Clooney stars as CIA-agent Jim Byrd and also directs the film. He has such a cinematic eye. The scenes in which he incorporates the movie with real- life clips of the game shows is brilliant. The acting is superb with Rockwell delivering what should have been at least a Golden Globe nomination. Also in the movie is Drew Barrymore (delivering one of her better roles), Julia Roberts, Rutger Hauer, and cameos by Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Maggie Gyllenthaal. The cinematography is superb, and Director of Photography, Newton Thomas Sigel, creates a film with such innovative lighting and tones, and to top it off, the screen play is written by one of Hollywood's best, Charlie Kaufmann (wrote 'Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, Eternal Sunshine).

The movie was shadowy but not dark, humorous but not too light, mysterious but not deceptive and was honestly one of the most original films I've seen in a long time.

The only minor hiccups I had with the movie was 1) inaccuracies with aging characters. Barris was born in 1928, yet the scenes in the late 1970s and early 1980s he looks like he's still in his thirties! At least the movie was consistent in not aging any of the characters; and 2) I felt the pace dragged slightly at times. There were moments when I felt the momentum falter inexplicably and the opener was slightly slow as well.

But those details are very minor and do not take away from the strength of this film. This is an engaging film, one that is intelligent and well-written, one that is acted superbly and crafted with such subtle craftsmanship from the best Hollywood has to offer. Great film! I'm surprised it doesn't get more credit

8 out of 10!

Turns out I was in the mood for Confessions of a dangerous mind all along.

Sam Rockwell well is great as Chuck Barris a extremely damaged man. I went into this film blind and was very pleasantly surprised, this is a funny but also kind of depressing biography of a man who like most of us, just didn't know who he was.

Definitely check this one out.