Confession
4/4
Starring: Chris Pine, Cameron Daddo, Peter Greene, Lukas Behnken, Bruce Davison, Tom Bosley, Kate Vernon, Adam Bussell
Rated R for Some Violence
The best thrillers are not about plots, but about characters. Characters that are put into unenviable circumstances and struggle to get out of them as the nooses get ever tighter. While movies like "Seven" and "The Silence of the Lambs" have their pleasures, movies like "Confession" are in some ways more potent because they're about people that have the same impulses we do.
Luther Scott (Pine) is the troublemaker at St. Michael's Prep. He'll lie and con just about anyone for booze, drugs or porn (for the right price), has zero respect for authority, and does whatever he wants (including visiting his girlfriend at the sister school). But when a party he throws soils the reputation of the school for a powerful senator (Robert Pine, Chris's father), Luther and his roommate, Robbie (Behken) are expelled. When Luther realizes that the school's dork, David Bennett (Bussell), is the one who ratted him out, he decides to get even. Things quickly spiral out of control and David ends up dead from a fall. Luther confesses his crime to Father Michael Kelly (Daddo), a well-liked priest with a mysterious past. His soul is in the clear, but his mortal life is very much in doubt, until the detective (Greene) becomes convinced that Father Michael is the killer.
I can't really remember the first time I became aware of Chris Pine. I feel as if it was before I saw him in "Star Trek," but I guess not. Regardless, he has become one of the best young actors out there, and this is his best performance, not to mention the most difficult role. Luther is not a particularly likable character. He's a self-pitying jerk who manipulates his weak-willed best friend to the point of ruining the poor guy's life, and that's just the start. In a way, he reminded me of Enid from "Ghost World," in the sense that he doesn't like or care about anything (except that he's a likable guy ruled by adolescence instead of being a sadistic bitch). But Pine is especially talented at making nasty characters sympathetic, even likable. This can be seen in "Star Trek" and in the criminally underseen "Carriers." Due in part to intelligent scripting but mostly Pine, Luther becomes a character we feel for and care about despite everything.
The supporting cast is top-notch. Cameron Daddo is good as the soft-spoken Father Michael, whose refusal to tell the truth, even if it means saving his skin, comes from within. This wasn't the case of him doing it because the script required him to, I really felt his tearing of the soul, but also fully understood why he says nothing. Lukas Behken is very good as Robbie. Robbie is in many ways the most tragic figure. He's not a particularly strong person, and being friends with Luther can only lead him to trouble. He looks to Luther, who is more self-assured (or seems to be) for a way out, but ends up getting himself in deeper. Peter Greene, much less sleazy than he was in "The Mask," is very good as the detective whose past history may cloud his judgement. Bruce Davison, Tom Bosley and Kate Vernon are solid in supporting roles.
The film was written and directed by Jonathan Meyers. When he made the film (which is loosely based off of Hitchcock's "I Confess," unseen by me), he was in his early twenties, and wrote the script when he was 14. The fact that he got the film made that young is nothing short of amazing, and it's all the more impressive considering that the film is a near-masterpiece. The film is almost flawless. Some of the scenes don't land as well as they should, and there are a few very minor blemishes, but nothing worth fussing over. The film looks incredible as well. It's deeply atmospheric and full of color (there is a gorgeous shot of a girl running through the rain).
Some movies make you wring your hands in suspense. Others make you feel like you got hit in the gut. This one does both.
Note: the R-rating is befuddling. There is some, but not much, and not at all graphic. Plus, as Roger Ebert frequently pointed out in films such as this, this deals with the implications of such actions, rather than as a throw away. This film should have been a PG-13.
Starring: Chris Pine, Cameron Daddo, Peter Greene, Lukas Behnken, Bruce Davison, Tom Bosley, Kate Vernon, Adam Bussell
Rated R for Some Violence
The best thrillers are not about plots, but about characters. Characters that are put into unenviable circumstances and struggle to get out of them as the nooses get ever tighter. While movies like "Seven" and "The Silence of the Lambs" have their pleasures, movies like "Confession" are in some ways more potent because they're about people that have the same impulses we do.
Luther Scott (Pine) is the troublemaker at St. Michael's Prep. He'll lie and con just about anyone for booze, drugs or porn (for the right price), has zero respect for authority, and does whatever he wants (including visiting his girlfriend at the sister school). But when a party he throws soils the reputation of the school for a powerful senator (Robert Pine, Chris's father), Luther and his roommate, Robbie (Behken) are expelled. When Luther realizes that the school's dork, David Bennett (Bussell), is the one who ratted him out, he decides to get even. Things quickly spiral out of control and David ends up dead from a fall. Luther confesses his crime to Father Michael Kelly (Daddo), a well-liked priest with a mysterious past. His soul is in the clear, but his mortal life is very much in doubt, until the detective (Greene) becomes convinced that Father Michael is the killer.
I can't really remember the first time I became aware of Chris Pine. I feel as if it was before I saw him in "Star Trek," but I guess not. Regardless, he has become one of the best young actors out there, and this is his best performance, not to mention the most difficult role. Luther is not a particularly likable character. He's a self-pitying jerk who manipulates his weak-willed best friend to the point of ruining the poor guy's life, and that's just the start. In a way, he reminded me of Enid from "Ghost World," in the sense that he doesn't like or care about anything (except that he's a likable guy ruled by adolescence instead of being a sadistic bitch). But Pine is especially talented at making nasty characters sympathetic, even likable. This can be seen in "Star Trek" and in the criminally underseen "Carriers." Due in part to intelligent scripting but mostly Pine, Luther becomes a character we feel for and care about despite everything.
The supporting cast is top-notch. Cameron Daddo is good as the soft-spoken Father Michael, whose refusal to tell the truth, even if it means saving his skin, comes from within. This wasn't the case of him doing it because the script required him to, I really felt his tearing of the soul, but also fully understood why he says nothing. Lukas Behken is very good as Robbie. Robbie is in many ways the most tragic figure. He's not a particularly strong person, and being friends with Luther can only lead him to trouble. He looks to Luther, who is more self-assured (or seems to be) for a way out, but ends up getting himself in deeper. Peter Greene, much less sleazy than he was in "The Mask," is very good as the detective whose past history may cloud his judgement. Bruce Davison, Tom Bosley and Kate Vernon are solid in supporting roles.
The film was written and directed by Jonathan Meyers. When he made the film (which is loosely based off of Hitchcock's "I Confess," unseen by me), he was in his early twenties, and wrote the script when he was 14. The fact that he got the film made that young is nothing short of amazing, and it's all the more impressive considering that the film is a near-masterpiece. The film is almost flawless. Some of the scenes don't land as well as they should, and there are a few very minor blemishes, but nothing worth fussing over. The film looks incredible as well. It's deeply atmospheric and full of color (there is a gorgeous shot of a girl running through the rain).
Some movies make you wring your hands in suspense. Others make you feel like you got hit in the gut. This one does both.
Note: the R-rating is befuddling. There is some, but not much, and not at all graphic. Plus, as Roger Ebert frequently pointed out in films such as this, this deals with the implications of such actions, rather than as a throw away. This film should have been a PG-13.
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