The Confession

Great Performances by Alec Baldwin and Ben Kingsley. But too much time was spent to convert Alec, and reach to what has seemed to have been an obvious climax.

I'm not a particularly avid follower of movie actors, or of movies as they're released, which probably explains why I found "The Confession"--and Alec Baldwin's performance in it--so surprising. I'd heard nothing about this film and saw it quite by accident.

Movies like "The Confession"--that is, movies with moral dilemmas at their center ("It's not hard to do the right thing; it's hard to know what the right thing is" is the central dilemma of the film)--often bypass the ambiguities of complex moral questions in favor of a single answer everyone can love.

In this film there are moral ambiguities aplenty, and the film deals honestly with the difficulty of facing those ambiguities head-on and taking a clear position. Alec Baldwin's performance was startling and complex--a beautiful thing to watch. The supporting cast, including Amy Irving, was top-notch, too.

I was surprised to see viewers rating of 6 out o 10. I saw it on Cable & got glued to the TV, if not throughout, then at least for the most part. As always, I was impressed by Ben Kingsley's performance: so genuine & magnetic.

Normally films with Alec Baldwin, or practically any others of the Baldwin clan, would generally have me reaching for the remote so as to change channels. But, Ben Kingsley.......... so I decided to settle down and watch `The Confession'. And I am glad I did so.

This is a pretty serious court-case, with some excellent scenes, and some good dialogues at times. If Baldwin is better than in anything else of his I have had (mostly) the misfortune of seeing, here he is really more than acceptable, even good. And Ben Kingsley is better: as good as anything since `Gandhi' (qv). `The Confession' shows clearly that neither of these actors need films of violence to keep intelligent spectators attentive: this film works, with good chemistry between the two men. The only weakness is that Baldwin just has to have a bit of an affair with...... no, I am not going to say with whom.

If like me you are not exactly a Baldwin fan, do not pass this film over. It is a well-carried out dramatic piece which is worth your time.

A completely silly movie, trying to be serious. The plot is utterly ridiculous- if you ignore the warnings, and watch this film, ask yourself periodically "what is the dumbest, most obvious turn that this story could take" and you will have predicted the next scene.

Would the death of your 5 year old, then the attempted suicide of your husband turn you on???

Plot 'twists' like this were unwarranted, and bordered on the macabre....

Between nodding off now and then, I kept wondering "why???" Avoid this snoozer.... please.... Rating? 1/2 out of 10