CONFESSIONS OF A DANGEROUS MIND

Starring:
Sam Rockwell
Drew Barrymore
Julia Roberts
Maggie Gyllenhaal
Rutger Hauer
and George Clooney

Director:
George Clooney

Running Time:
113 mins

Out to buy on DVD December 29th

Chuck Barris (Rockwell) was a successful TV game show producer. After creating The Dating Game, The Gong Show and numerous other hits he was labelled the king of trash TV in the 1960s and 70s. Little did his friends and colleagues know that Chuck was living another life, as a CIA hit man.

George Clooney steps behind the camera as well as in front of it, to make his directorial debut.

Based on his self-written autobiography and adapted to the screen by Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich and Adaptation), Confessions of a Dangerous Mind is the "true" life story of Trash TV producer Chuck Barris. His claim that he was a high profile Game Show creator and a CIA hit man might sound very eccentric and over-the-top but even if it isn't true, it still makes for a very entertaining movie.

As a first time directing project, George Clooney has chosen a movie that he could feel very confident with. Mixing the surreal, quirkiness of the Coen Brothers and visual flare of Steven Soderbergh, Clooney utilises every trick in the directing book to bring this story to life. He is very at ease with the material, bringing a coolness and joy to the first two acts as we chart Barris's rise and a dark bleakness to his eventual fall into paranoia and fear in the final act.

The performances in the movie are first rate. This is a career making film for Sam Rockwell and should push him into the spotlight after a succession of well-received smaller role in the like of The Green Mile and Galaxy Quest. He brings Barris's niceness, enthusiasm and imagination to life but he also has no trouble coping with the character's darker side, the murderous, philandering, lonely man who is full of mistrust and apprehension. Clooney has surrounded his first time lead with an excellent supporting cast. As well as a very understated and fine performance by Clooney himself, there are also standout roles for Drew Barrymore and Rutger Hauer, in his best role in years, maybe even since Bladerunner. Julia Roberts as fellow CIA agent Patricia, electrifies the screen every time she graces it and look out for a couple of great cameos from George's friends.

The movie does lose some of its pace and fizz at the beginning of the final act but this takes nothing away from what is a great directorial debut. The movie is laugh-out-loud funny in places and thrilling in others, making it the perfect mix for great entertainment.

Audio commentary from director George Clooney and cinematographer Newton Thomas Sigal
Deleted scenes
Featurettes
Sam Rockwell screen test
'The Real Chuck Barris' featurette
Gong Show Acts
Stills gallery
Interactive menu & Scene access


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2003