The Confessor

I am not a big Christian Slater fan, but I think he did a good job with this effort. He plays a hip, high-profile priest, who knows how to wheel and deal like a Wall-Street veteran. He becomes involved in a parish murder mystery that is entertaining, and most importantly, not predictable. There are a few problems with the film, but we overlook them because it is an interesting premise. Plot done before by a few films; most notably "I Confess" with Montgomery Cliff. A woman is murdered and a parish priest is charged with her murder. Slater takes it from there, trying to unravel the mystery. Not bad.

"The Confessor" AKA "The Good Shepherd" is a well-acted drama.

The plot: Father Daniel Clemens (Slater) has uncovered a murder mystery involving other priests and corruption in his church. Can he uncover the truth?

Christian Slater puts in a good performance as usual. Parker also holds her own. The mystery is a little uneven and the ending is weak, but overall the movie is worth seeing. It goes in too many directions. The director made another movie called "Gone Dark" which is a hidden gem.

In the end: "The Confessor" is decent little mystery if you don't take it too seriously.

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For a non-Canadian viewer,the film might seem weird .Their priests do not look like those of their countries,or maybe this is the movie which makes them look like more like yuppies than men of God.It takes a lot of imagination to believe that Christian Slater,Stephen Rea and even poor Von Flores are clergymen.

The movie is actually a whodunit where Slater -who began his career in a monastery (remember "the name of the rose"?)puts on his little act of Hercule Poirot without a mustache .Best performance ,IMHO,comes from Nancy Beatty as the sinister Mrs Gallagher:she particularly shines in the scene where she blames the clergy for their life in luxury.

Like this ...try this.....

Primal fear (Gregory Hoblit) -much better than "shepherd"!-

Father Daniel Clemens (Christian Slater) does money solicitation and financial work for the church. He's called in for admiror Father Andrews who was arrested for murder. Andrews can't prove his innocence due to the seal of confession. Clemens has his friend McCaran (Stephen Rea). Cardinal Ledesna (Gordon Pinsent) orders Clemens to handle the case. He struggles to do PR and investigate with the help of reporter Madeline Finney (Molly Parker) with whom he has a past.

This is a Canadian production that pulled in some bigger actors. Stephen Rea is woefully underserved. It's obvious what they're setting him up for but it's a waste of a great actor. As a mystery, it doesn't lay out the clues and twists that well. The filmmaking is plain. It needs a better filmmaker to inject real intensity and brooding mood. Neither writer nor director seem to have gone on to do much else. The church's internal battle needs something bigger and more ominous. The forbidden love between Daniel and Madeline has no heat and is awkward when the heat is turned up. There are elements of a better film but this puts it together like a movie of the week. It's only when Stephen Rea, Slater, and Parker join forces do the movie starts pulling together.

Uneventful Opening.

+1 Star For the Priest who upholds the honor and integrity of the confessional despite having uh...how shall i say......'flaws' ?

Okay this movie really didn't have a lot of umph to it at all..

The ending was very quick and really didn't add anything.

-1 Star really for the whole 2nd half of the movie.

5/10 is probably being generous....