Confidence

Jake (Burns) and his crew had just pulled another prefect con, or so they thought. The lowlife who they had just swindled $150,000 out of worked for Winston King (Hoffman), a self-made gangster who doesn't take nicely to losing anything, never mind money. Jake decides to make thing square by organising a con that will pay back King with interest and make him and his crew financially secure for life.

Glen Garry Glen Ross director James Foley gathers together another fine ensemble cast and brings you a deception movie with more than enough twists and turns to keep you guessing.

Told in flashback with a gun to his head, Edward Burns's Jake is a cool character, even under immense pressure. This is credit to an actor whose career as been very hit and miss. When he appears in his own movies like The Brothers McMullen, She's the One and Sidewalks of New York, he excels and lives up to the hype he generated with his first feature. But for each one of these there is a Fifteen Minutes or Life or Something Like it. You'll be glad to hear that Confidence is Burns back on form. He has the right about of charm, coolness and, may I say, confidence to pull of the role successfully. While he might not be as good as Danny Ocean (George Clooney's character in Ocean's 11), Burns's Jake is still a cool grifter that you want to get away clean.

The rest of the cast are also very good. Rachel Weisz looks stunning in the movie and plays the femme-fatal superbly. The underrated Paul Giamatti is on top form as the toilet challenged Gordo and Andy Garcia is as good as ever as Jake's pursuer Agent Gunther Butan. The ever-reliable Louis Guzmán and the slightly underused Robert Forster are also very good.

Dustin Hoffman almost steals the show as gangster Winston King. His over-the-top, spun-out, hyperactive mobster is his best role in years. The interactions between him and Burns make the movie, as the dialogue is superb and expertly acted.

James Foley's direction is inventive, quick and very visual. Combining fast paced editing, flashbacks and imaginative cuts, the film has a lot of style, which complements the subject matter marvellously. This movie should now get him back on track after not really following on from the potential he showed with Glen Garry Glen Ross in 1992.

Confidence is a very good example of a deception thriller. While only slightly predictable, it twists and turns enough to keep you guessing until the final few frames and the characters are likeable enough for you to want them to get away with it. You won't feel conned after watching is movie.

PICTURE & SOUND
Presented in Widescreen 2.35:1 Anamorphic with Dolby Digital 5.1 surround sound, the transfer as with most modern films, is crystal clear and sounds superb. The use of darkness and vibrant coloured lights during the nightclub and bar scenes show the clarity of the picture and the surround sound comes into its own during these scenes. The dialogue is also very clear, as it has to be for a character driven piece.

BONUS FEATURES

Sundance Channel presents: Anatomy of a Scene (27.23 mins)
The director, writer, editor, cinematographer and cast take you through the key scene that outlines the con. Taking you from page to screen, this extremely interesting featurette breaks down the movie and the scene and reassembles it bit by bit from everyone's perspective. From casting to locations and editing to setting the scene everything is covered making you wish that you could get the Sundance Channel outside of the US.

Deleted Scenes (5.26 mins)
Two deleted scenes that flesh out Lily's backstory but remove some of the misery of her character. It would have been nice to have a director's commentary to explain why these scenes where removed.

Interviews (35.34 mins)
Informative interview with Ed Burns, Rachel Weisz, Andy Garcia, Dustin Hoffman and director James Foley. Each of them talks about their reasons for doing the movie, the cast, the story and working together. This isn't your usual pat-on-the-back type interviews but informative insights into the people and the movie itself.

Cast Commentary
Cast members Ed Burns, Rachel Weisz, Dustin Hoffman and Andy Garcia provide a fun and informative commentary on their experiences making Confidence. Each cast member introduces and talks about their characters and they come together in pairs to talk about character interactions and motivations about a scene. Rachel Weisz and Ed Burns have a good rappor but Burns does tend to do most of the talking. Dustin Hoffman gives you a good insight into how he prepares for a role and each of them talks about their characters and their motivations for key scenes. This is a really good commentary that is both informative and fun.

Director's Commentary
Director James Foley gives you an in-depth and technical insight into the making of the movie. He talks about casting, budget restrictions and his influences for creating this very noir-ish con movie. This is an informative commentary that will hold the interest of filmmakers and movie buffs as it highlights the director's great understanding of film and character.

Writer's Commentary
First time screenwriter Doug Jung gives you an insight into how to write a screenplay and get it made into a feature film. He highlights the differences between his original draft, which was set in New York not L.A. and the final script. He also talks about how he, director James Foley and the actors collaborated to make the changes in both location and characters with Dustin Hoffman's character had the biggest change as 'The King' changed for a big, ex-boxer criminal type into what we know see on screen. This again is an informative commentary from an inspiring writer that gives a good insight into the role of a screenwriter during the film's production.

Trailer
The final theatrical trailer is also included.

Forthcoming Trailers
Trailers for the future Momentum releases 'People I know', 'Out of Time' and 'Lost in Translation'

OVERALL
An extremely good deception thriller is complemented in this well packaged DVD. The bonus features are very informative, especially the 'Anatomy of a Scene' featurette which is very different from your usual behind-the-scenes footage. The three commentaries are also very good with the cast one standing out as the best of the three. All of these features combines make 'Confidence' a must buy for fans of the film and an attractive proposition for people who haven't seen it.

DVD

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2003