So, it's safe to say that I'm a bit obsessed with movies. So when I meet someone, that can show me stuff I haven't seen before, you can color me impressed. So here's my official shout-out to a fellow movie ninja who is almost as awesome as I. ALMOST.
I was a little worried when "Confidence" began, because, well, it stars Edward Burns, who can be either incredibly awesome ("Saving Private Ryan") or incredibly awful ("Sound of Thunder"). But I'm really glad I got over it, because "Confidence" was a suprisingly awesome slick caper film, and the quality of the film is due almost entirely to Burns' performance.
Yes, it's your basic con-artist caper premise, replete with double-crosses, back-stabbing, fast-talking, and big money. But what sets "Confidence" apart from the nigh unbearable "Ocean's 11" series is the ensemble of actors. While "Ocean's 11" is dragged down into a murky mess by it's clunky cast of heavy-hitters, "Confidence" is faster, smarter, and cooler with the likes of Rachel Weisz, Paul Giamatti, and Dustin Hoffman at the reins. But in the end, it is Burns' performance that ties the film together. He's the guy every guy (and geeky chick) wants to be...smart and slick with just enough of the goof in him to be irresistably likable.
The plot is also remarkably easy to follow, and the caper itself is believable, a point which is crucial, because yet one other thing that sucks about "Ocean's 11" and the like is that their capers are so stunningly full of inconsistencies and plot holes because they are all too busy trying to be slicker than the next guy. Blech. "Confidence", on the other hand, has a believable heist, and pulls it off perfectly without a whole bunch of needless bells and whistles bogging it down.
The cinematography and the music are also high points of the film...here's to wishing I was as cool as Edward Burns!
