Confidence (2003)

The performances transcend the film's tropes, grounding it in characters that feel more complete than this subgenre often produces.

Blistering performances.

All of these films share one commonality, that being a kind of emotional center that humanizes a cast of monsters.

The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

A seasoned con-artist's most recent trick goes wrong when his team steal money from the mob, they then go about arranging another hustle to get the money back.Director James Foley's Confidence pretty much set the formula for the UK TV series Hustle (2004) that appeared a year later and the more recent Leverage (2008). It's flashy and slick and with stylised lighting, camera work and editing.Rachel Weisz is debatably miscast, nevertheless Edward Burns is excellent in the lead role and rest of the cast are adequate. Both Andy Garcia and Dustin Hoffman are underused but what is there is, is first class. The flashbacks and narration from Burns guides you though the film, written by Doug Jung, the script is witty although there's a little too much exposition and the tone feels inconsistent at times.If you've already seen the aforementioned TV series the twist will come as no surprise but if you want to see the seed of these shows and what a gritty film version would be like - look no further.

In the opening scene of "Confidence", Edward Burns is lying dead in a back alley. He narrates the story as he lies on the pavement. But is he William Holden dead as in "Sunset Boulevard" or is he some other kind of dead? "Confidence" is the perfect title for a heist movie that heists large chunks of plot from "The Sting" without so much as a nod to the original creators. The problem with borrowing so much from a classic film is that it isn't much of a surprise once the audience realises where they have seen it all before. Unfortunately "Confidence" is so confident that it actually telegraphs the ending at the beginning.Edward Burns plays Jake Vig, grifter and conman. He and his team of grifter buddies work a scam on a mark who turns out to be working for a far more serious criminal, Winston King, played with acting chops in overdrive by Dustin Hoffman.When one of the team is killed, Burns and the guys realise that King is out for revenge. Jake decides to head off further payback by approaching King and making him a deal. Jake offers to pull off an even bigger scam that will net millions of dollars for both of them. However revenge for the death of his friend is also on the agenda for Jake.He even asks Winston King to bankroll the deal. Chutzpah and confidence are not only Jake's stock in trade but also his philosophy. "You're good," King says to Jake, "I can't even tell when you're lying." But it's not actually true, you can tell; Burns doesn't have a great range as an actor and the demeanour he adopts here is not a particularly likable one.The scam involves stealing a large sum of money from a former gangster, Morgan Price played by Robert Forster. The plan is to take the money during an exchange of funds with a small, offshore bank. It also involves bringing one of Price's executives into the scam. To achieve this, Burns approaches a prostitute, Lily, to be part of the team, and to seduce the executive.Lily is played by Rachel Weisz who adopts a hard-boiled persona and looks disconcertingly like a drag queen. Whatever the costume designers had in mind, her whole look would make a good subject for a fashion makeover by Trinny and Susannah on "What Not To Wear".Although "Confidence" does possess a certain slickness, the 'f word' is used to the point where it could be a record for any film. Why the filmmakers would sanction such repetition is mystifying, unless it indicates improvisation from the actors – unimaginative improvisation at that. It's just another creative miscalculation among many others in the film.Slick, shallow and far too self-conscious, "Confidence" isn't totally bad. It has enough energy to divert while it plays; it is only when it has finished that its most obvious quality comes into play – it is instantly forgettable.

Confidence is one of those hit and miss movies. When it works it is brilliant however there are too many inherent flaws to make it worth recommending. Principally the biggest draw is Dustin Hoffmans performance. His character, the mobster "King", a sleaze bag with a volcanic personality, reminded me a lot of the character he played in the understated 1970's classic crime/drama Straight Time (which if you have not seen you really should check out. The scenes of Hoffman simultaneously threatening and coming on to Ed Burns are tense and darkly humorous.At other times the movie tries to be quirky and with its jaunty musical score gives the film a frustratingly uneven tone. Edward Burns is fine as the leader of the scam artist crew but i didn't buy into the other crew members one of whom should really stick to comedy. The addition of Rachael Weisz to the crew failed to impress me. When you consider strong female roles that make an impression in for example The Grifters and House of Games, Weisz really comes up short. The snaring of their mark for the sting to pay off King does not ring true. The promise of a honey trap is floated but the banker does not even have to sleep with Weisz in order to be suckered in and this is not believable. Andy Garcia pops up in an extended cameo to harass the two goonish cops who are helping and skimming Ed Burns but again this facet is played mostly for laughs.The ending was entirely predictable when it should have left you guessing and again not enough Hoffman.

I was just kicking back feeling lazy when this fine movie appeared on TV. I figured it was a cheaply done film , but having no other use for my time I decided to give it a chance. Turns out the movie eclipsed my expectations a thousand times over. Not only was the acting good, the plot well put together, but the twist was amazing. Movies like Oceans Thirteen should take a notepad, a pen, and copy down how this movie was done because there is a lesson to be learned. Money and big actors may attract the crowd ,but it doesn't make a good movie. This my friend lacks the big actors and money, but its A GREAT MOVIE! I give this a 9/10 and i'm sure you will to.