The Confirmation

Clive Owen plays the part of an alcohol addicted father, who is strugling to get by, being unemployed. Being divorced he only gets to see his young son during the weekend, in which they bond through a number of unforeseen events.

Endearing portrait of family life with divorced parents. Great acting. Slowburning, mellow mood. Suited for young and old.

Every dad (ok, all of us) has flaws. Sometimes kids, help us see our flaws, and make us want to do better. This movie isn't a blockbuster movie with all sorts of action, but well worth the 102 minutes. It held my interest throughout the entire movie. Pretty decent acting from Jaeden Martell, who plays Anthony.

The film makers chose not to feature the intense desperation of the Italian film The Bicycle Thief, used zero profanity, and a deadpan kid. Those may actually be reasons why some would dislike this film, but I found it all oddly seductive.

Like another reviewer mentioned, nobody was vicious or truly mean here. Almost everyone, despite their poverty, had soul. Imagine a world where even in a gray desperate setting, people restrain themselves from the savagery that such places evoke in the real world.

Some may ask why you need to cast a British guy in a film set in Washington and filmed in Canada. But I found Owen endearing and the dialogue he was given sublime. Someone decided that his face and demeanor fit the character, and I believe they did. Good call.

Most of the "stars" are not really stars, and I appreciated seeing them get some work. Robert Forster is perfect for these roles, and Maria Bello totally looked the part.

I don't know why they needed to make the boy be eight years old. The actor was way older than that. Clearly an eight year old would not be able to think or act as this one did. They should have made him 10, although the actor was 12. The unbelievable age thing was an awkward glitch for me.

I'm glad they didn't use a soundtrack. The silence helped illustrate the depressed nature of the town. I've been to a depressed town in Washington. It's real.

For whatever reasons, these film makers made the choice to present this story in a sort of Jim Jarmusch existentially absurd way. I liked that approach and did not judge it by other potential ways of doing it. I accepted it for what it was.

This is one film where the synopsis does not do the film justice. If I had only read that, I doubt if I would have watched the film at all. Even though the summary is correct, it fails to elucidate the subtleties in the plot and the fine acting that underpins the storyline.

First of all, I hate films that feature kids. The kids are all stereotyped in most films. Either they are too cute or too cynical, spoiled, and arrogant to be compelling. You can be sure that 1) they will be the one that cause the problems or 2) they will be transformed into 'good kids' by the end of the film.

Jaeden Lieberher, who plays the main kid role, is believable. Clive Owen, who I think is often underrated as an actor, does his usual solid performance as a recovering alcoholic-father. But it is the supporting actors who bring this slice-of-life drama to perfection. The emotional fine points in the plot could not have come through without them.

After watching it myself, I decided to watch the film with my 13-year-old son. Normally, he likes the action movie, super hero, special effects-laden films, so this was a bit of a transition. The verdict? He could associate with a lot of the interactions that went on in the film from a kid's point of view and enjoyed watching it. Adults will like it for the insights into adult relationships.

It will not be for everyone. I would guess most kids will be waiting for the next exploding car or 15 minute fight scene, which will never happen, just as they never happen so frequently in real life.

I know this film will pass largely unnoticed, which is why I felt obliged to write a review of it. There are those filmgoers out there who still appreciate a good film in its purest form.

It's no accident that about a third of the way through the movie, Clive Owen and Jaeden Lieberher, as father and son in The Confirmation are watching an old episode of The Rifleman - the quintessential TV western that was more about a father relating to his son in difficult and dire situations than it was about his gun.

Clive Owen plays a divorced, alcoholic father who sees his son Jaeden Lieberher on weekends. One particular weekend, the father has his woodworking tools stolen. These are specialized carpentry tools that are irreplaceable. The son accompanies his dad on a series of misadventures in an attempt to recover the lost tools, which he must have for an upcoming job that he desperately needs.

While a comparison can be made to the classic The Bicycle Thief, this movie stands on its own merits as an endearing case study of a boy's love for his father, willing to do whatever it takes to keep him on the straight and narrow path, and enabling both parent and child to rise to the occasion and succeed.

This is a wonderful role for Owen and it is beautifully played. While Lieberher's character may seem a bit more precocious than would be expected of such a young boy, it does not come off as unbelievable.

This is a movie the whole family can enjoy, all the more so because of its timeless themes of suffering and redemption, and not portraying fathers as the likely losers you so often see in Hollywood these days.