The Confession

I wonder what induced Kingsley, Irving, Noth and Baldwin to participate in this tripe. Understand their beliefs may have led them to do it, but the next time they have a spare weekend, perhaps they could spend it interviewing directors who have a modicum of talent and originality. It was a toss up for me between the direction and the script as to which was the most banal. The consummate professional cast struggled to give the piece some dignity but it was hopeless from the start. On a lighter note, even the delectable Chris Noth plain-janed himself into obscurity.

I believe this was Alec Baldwin's most believable work in years. I was disappointed with Ben Kingsly, but anybody else would have been worse.

It is always good to see a movie that presents an idea that is original. Maybe I am wrong. Maybe this is a remake of a 50 year old movie, but I didn't see that one.

Rent it if you are an adult with a child.

7/10

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.

This is a movie about a moral man (Kingsley) trapped in an immoral world. When his son is ill and needing urgent medical attention, the actions of the medical staff lead to serious consequences for all, and Kingsley's character requires legal representation. Baldwin is appointed his lawyer and his experience with Kingsley changes his values. Baldwin had become corrupted by the legal system and was no longer interested in right or wrong, just winning. Kingsley's moral values of right and wrong and admitting our guilt and paying for our wrongs changes Baldwin for the "better". Baldwin's character now has a new set of moral values and this has disastrous consequences for other parties.

I thought this was a movie with a strong moral message and it was well acted by Baldwin and Kingsley for the most part. At times it got a little too much listening to Kingsley's explanations of why we should be honest. He came across as a bit of a saint, and in reality this never happens, just in words. All in all, I thought it well worth watching. In my book an 8 (from 10).

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.