Rich On Confessions

A wise man once said that nothing is created, it is merely discovered. I think that's what he said. If he didn't say that, he said something very similar. But for this review, it fits nicely - so let's just accept that a wise man once said that.

This is true in the world of film too. Very few directors are thoroughly original. Their work is more a pastiche of other people's styles and ideas, mashed together to create a combination singular to that director.

Any director who produces a film of such 100% original style is regarded, in film terms, as an auteur (a phrase commonly used in snooty film mags). To be fair, a film is a collaboration of hundreds of people's efforts, so quite how a director can be regarded as an autuer is something I don't understand.

Mystery

But that's not my point. It was this train of thought that cropped up as I sat through Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. It's a film I've heard little about. The main marketing point appears to be that it's Clooney's directorial debut. But the film itself is a mystery.

Based on the memoirs of a game show creator, Confessions is a black comedy...I think. The thing is, I don't know what anyone else is classifying it as. I'm a bit concerned that I didn't get it. It's also presented as a true story - although its subject matter can't possibly be true - can it?

Sam Rockwell is Chuck Barris, a down-on-his-luck wannabe TV producer who's as obsessed with sex as with his TV career. We follow the rise and fall of this man from the Fifties through to the present day, as he creates The Dating Game and The Gong Show, and goes on to ride the wave of his success. Where it gets confusing is, quite simply, the point at which Clooney hits the screen.

Taking notes

You see, not only is Barris a game show creator cum host, he's also a hitman who combines his two jobs and two lives, making a life that sends him into a seriously deranged state.

The comedy element cannot be ignored. It's one of the most subtle comedies I've seen in years, probably since The Man Who Wasn't There, the last Coen Brothers' effort.

The Cloonster has clearly been taking notes on his previous directors, as each and every character plays it straigh - much like every character seen in a Coen Bros film since Raising Arizona.

Surreal

Indeed, it's as surreal a film as anyone has made for a mainstream audience - which is not surprising, when you find out the screenplay was written by the guy behind Being John Malkovich and Adaptation.

The story itself is, however, not as entertaining as it needs to be. I've said before that biopics struggle to maintain the pace for the full running time, and this is no exception.

Much like Man On The Moon, the story of comedian Andy Kaufman, this skips over different periods of history almost randomly, and without much story to fill you in on what has happened in the mean time.

Assured

At one stage you see Barris in his modest flat - only for the next scene to catch him in a very large, very successful looking holiday home. It's a small point but sums up the problems with telling 70 years of one man's life in 90 minutes.

Clooney, though, is an assured director. The grace and style of some shots is superb and, like I say, the comedy is spot-on.

His direction is clearly influenced by the Coens and Soderbergh - if you've seen Out of Sight and Ocean's Eleven, you'll recognise the slick running of each scene.

Crying shame

The darker the film gets, however, the more I started to think that maybe it should have remained light-hearted. I say this because some people in the cinema simply walked out.

I found this a crying shame because it's a really good piece of cinema, but it might not be clear enough to appeal to the masses, as it deserves.

In all, I found it an engaging and disturbing yet often hilarious comedy, which may have intended to be something completely different.

I'm sure I've nailed it - but then again this review may merely be the confession of a rather stupid mind.

Rich
Sky Unit 2 Reception
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