Confidence is a nifty film about a shifty con job. When this movie genre succeeds, it is rarely because of the plot, which in this case is convoluted nonsense about a money scam in which twists, double crosses and outright lies mess up the con men on screen and the audience watching them.
In the best con job flicks, such as The Sting or more recently The Good Thief, the plot is usually incidental to the interaction of richly-drawn, quirky characters.
That is certainly the case with James Foley's Confidence. While it is no classic, it is a thoroughly engaging, provocative and funny film, especially true if you like sardonic humour.
The biggest con job here is that the principal cast members -- Dustin Hoffman, Ed Burns, Rachel Weisz, Andy Garcia, Morris Chestnut, Paul Guzman, Paul Giamatti and tough-guy discovery Franky G -- actually convince us they are who they say they are. This is crucial to our willing suspension of disbelief in a movie in which we otherwise believe nothing.
Every performer is good and sparks with electrically charged quirks, personality disorders and odd bits of behaviour. And all the parts fit into the whole by the end of the flick.
Hoffman in particular is sensational. This shameless scene-stealer plays a Los Angeles crime boss known as The King.
Hoffman burns up the screen in a scene in which he sets up the rules of the con that Burns and Weisz will mastermind and execute for everyone's mutual benefit. Yelling and prodding and exploding into tantrums, Hoffman then counterpoints his excesses with moments of surprising vulnerability and tenderness. Raising the question of bisexuality, he vamps both Burns and Weisz before turning the moment into a threat in which their lives are put in danger.
This intoxicating cocktail of emotions and mannerisms -- which reportedly was developed by Hoffman in a series of improv rehearsals -- is pure acting. If this character development was actually put into service in a film with significant drama, critics would be talking about an Oscar nomination.
As it is, Confidence is not Oscar material. It is a generic movie which is elevated by Hoffman's entertaining bravado and by the stalwart work of Burns, as the plucky criminal who tries to school the master, and of Weisz, a sexy Briton who does the hard-boiled, American femme fatale rather well.
Confidence does noticeably lag in energy when Hoffman is absent, however.
It is dangerous to encourage someone of Hoffman's calibre to create such a vibrant support character. When he is missing from the screen, you really miss him.
Nevertheless, Confidence still gets us going and keeps us interested. That is thanks to the strong work of everyone else, and thanks to Foley's character-driven attention to detail in bringing Doug Jung's script to the screen. Confidence is escapism with style and verve.
(This film is rated 14-A)
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