Confidence Reviews

A conman whose crew accidentally takes the money of a crime kingpin is forced into doing a job for him to pay back the debt. Attempting the same kind of smart, sassy and easygoing charm of the likes of the Ocean's films, Confidence is just a little too generic to really light anyone's fire. Edward Burns is rather too "made for television" to have enough charisma to carry the film, Dustin Hoffman, although a great actor in his day, at his age (and height) cannot do intimidating and easily the best character played by Andy Garcia gets nothing like enough screen time. It does have some charm and wit and is slickly directed by James Foley, but it's just a little too overly familiar and does not have enough in the way of personality or surprises to be considered for the big leagues. If it's an undemanding crime caper you're after and you've run out of Clooney films to watch, you could do a lot worse though.

Clever twists and slick humor - not as satisfying upon second viewing though. Edward Burns is charmingly stoic.

It?s ok but Dustin Hoffman was terribly miscast considering in the book, his character is this giant muscle-bound thug who sends fair into the hearts of all things living. Hardly!

"In every con, sooner or later, somebodys gonna ask the right questions." A medium paced con film that should NEVER even be compared to Oceans Eleven. (O11 is fast paced and upbeat, this one just likes to take a power walk.) An all star cast ensemble that delivers just the right amount of ear catching dialogues. Starts of rather choppy but it picks up after a while. So its nothing fresh, but its quite an interesting ride. Sure it has a few minor dents, but its also got a golden easter egg. Want to find out what it is? Watch it from start to finish.I absolutely love the soundtrack! Christophe Beck, Fischerspooner, Groove Armanda, Zero 7 and Coldplay are just a few of the names on the OST. Check it out!!What not to expect: Gun totting actionDirector: James FoleyRated R

A decent heist film in the vein of the Ocean's movies.

Jake Vig, a charming presence even in the worst of times, makes a perfectly beguiling grifter; as Jake Vig he displays both the smarts to spot big money and the ruthlessness to go after it. Early on in Confidence, he sets his sights on a big target -- The King, a pint-sized crime boss with an eye for strippers and a bad case of ADD. In other hands, the King might have just been a collection of quirks, but Hoffman has the effortless ability to make him both fascinating and complete. Together, he and Burns form a strong pair of tentpoles under which Confidence can develop its complicated scheme.

Naturally, it's not as simple as Vig picking the King out of a crowd. He and his crew unknowingly fleece an important underling, stealing a substantial chunk of the King's money. Before they realize their error, one of their number has a bullet in his head and the rest are ready to cut and run, leaving Vig to do some fast thinking. So he approaches the King directly, offering to pay back the funds by pulling an even bigger scam on the crime lord's hated rival. Unfortunately, the plan requires an additional player, and Vig settles on a pickpocket femme fatale named Lily who may not have the group's best interests at heart. He also neglects to mention the federal marshal on his trail, who could land the entire lot of them in prison.

Like he did in Glengarry Glen Ross, Foley demonstrates considerable skill working with an ensemble, aptly balancing the characters with the needs of the story. As a technical exercise Confidence is well-tuned, and the 98 minute running time feels just about right. The script brims with terrific dialogue, which the cast takes great relish in delivering, and the uniformly excellent performances never become forced or mannered .Dustin Hoffman gives a fresh and original performance that should have landed him at the very least an Oscar nomination. Like the length of the film is just about perfect. It's incredibly fast paced. This one movie that has re-watch-ability written all over it and an excellent flick that should not be missed.

Relentlessly enjoyable. A smart, funny, stylish and teriffic crime thriller. It packs plenty of twist and endless surprises. Ed Burns gives his best performance to date.

Fantastic performances, a strong sense of style, and immaculate pacing keep Confidence from becoming a generic heist thriller. I've never found Edward Burns to have much personality as an actor, but he does well here. Rachel Weisz is great as always, and Dustin Hoffman and Paul Giamatti really steal the show.

The main plot is by no means brilliant, eschewing extensive character development in favor of energy and trimness, but it is just right for this kind of movie. The characters are likeable people (at least, for a group of cons). Oh, and you've gotta love the ending.

Highly recommended.

A great heist movie. The only thing that killed it for me was the Coldplay song I heard a billion times that lead into the credits.

Ed Burns is Jake, the leader of a band of con men who rips off a mob boss (played by Dustin Hoffman). Now to pay back Hoffman, they have to try and con one of the most important people in the city. Rachel Weisz plays the street thief Burns takes under his wing who serves as bait. Paul Giamatti is great as Burn's cohort and Andy Garcia has a nice bit as a grungy, yet ruthless federal agent.

Ever since The Sting, everyone wants to make the next great con movie, there have been a few good ones, but Confidence is too medicore to count among them. I was never surprised because once you've seen enough of these movies you know they plan to surpirse you in the end and I expected something ridiculous and that's what I got. It's not all bad though, I loved the scenes with Dustin Hoffman as an ADHD gangster. I wish the movie was about him and not a run of the mill con.

Starring Edward Burns, Dustin Hoffman, Andy Garcia and Rachel Weisz, directed by James Foley, and written by Doug Jung.A group of grifters rip off their latest mark and celebrate, while de facto leader of the group Jake Vig (Edward Burns) explains the art of the con. When one of the four is found shot to death, the other three learn that the latest money they stole actually belonged to a local L.A. crime lord called The King (Dustin Hoffman). Jake proposes that the grifters work for the King and steal money from Morgan Price (Robert Forster), a rival who owns a bank.With a clever screenplay but a little with "too much talk" this is a well made film.

Did they hire Edward Burns because Ben Affleck said no?
Will Burns end up with Weisz?
Is Garcia really a Fed?
Will they all get away with it in the end?
Who's conning who?
Who cares?

Dustin Hoffman played an interesting piece of scum. Other than him, no surprises here. A real time waster.

A film that I would wander by and think, "Hmmm...Dustin Hoffman..." but never really thought about. then, it re-appeared with a slipsleeve/O-ring and suddenly I couldn't resist. Yes, I am a marketing victim, but I think we all knew that. I snagged it because every time I skip on a slipsleeve [the term I've chosen for them, since they're more like sleeves than covers, in my opinion] it disappears, and the case below isn't as good. Sometimes this is simply due to the loss of gloss, the gain of gloss (from matting), the loss of metallic undertones, or, occasionally, that rarest of rare treasures--the DIFFERENT slipsleeve.
Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid--as recently re-released about two years ago--did this. So did Confidence. Actually, the slipsleeve for Confidence kind of sucks, and isn't as good as the cover below, but I have *both* now.

Anyway, moving on...

There's a very strong cast here--with tons of great character actors sprinkled throughout. Really, the term is becoming difficult to use since we know so many of those actors by name now. But, all the same, this cast includes Rachel Weisz (who I don't believe I've seen before, only know as having been in Constantine--to which I'd say "strike one," but that's really all three strikes in one--and didn't impress me), Robert Forster (who I will always know for Alligator before anything else), Luis Guzmán, Paul Giamatti, Louis Lombardi (known most recently as Edgar on 24), Donal Logue, and of course, Dustin Hoffman.
It's in that subgenre of crime films that is the "con" film. Of course we can always look to things like Ridley Scott's Matchstick Men or The Sting or the last one I saw, Shade and see that...yeah, this has been done. It was most reminiscent of Matchstick Men in a general plot and character sense--kind of funny, as both were released in 2003. But, there was a strong style to it--not that disjointed narratives are anything new, either--and fantastic opening titles. The soundtrack was very ambient electronic stuff, which made a good impression even starting from the menu alone.

Edward Burns was the star, and I'm still trying to think of anything else I've seen him in. I'm sure if I checked IMDb, I'd know, but as it stands, I can't think of a solitary thing. Regardless, he DID impress me, and had a solid character to work with. The plotting was, thankfully, not completely transparent, which is necessary for any con film, but I did see a few odd bits coming. All the same, it fit together perfectly, the style held and didn't feel overbearing, and seeing all of those folk in their bits and pieces roles was great fun. Didn't overrun its welcome and told a solid, well-paced story.
Not an awful lot more to say than that...

I actually really enjoyed this overshadowed film. Quite a fun piece of scriptwriting with characters that are quirky and engaging and with chemistry and comradery that carries throughout the film. The ensemble is great together, Hoffman is back with that childish grin of his that never changes and his talent is never in question here, though his screen time is sadly minimal. However Burns is cunning and has us under his thumb the whole time, he is like a cross between Richard Gere and Matthew Fox. Giamatti is hilarious as usual, what a great character actor he is. And the notion of cons and being conned is fresh enough here and nicely executed and professionally filmed that it is a wonder it wasn't a hit at the box office. Truly worth a look!

This is a great crime thriller with an excellent assembled cast. This movie displayed Burns' ability to take the lead role and own it.

Saw this last night. I was pleasantly surprised; a host of great actors in what I think is an underrated film. The twist at the end is fun :)

There's this rule in Hollywood that may be unwritten but is nonetheless ironclad: stick to the formula. The hero can't die in a romantic comedy. The drama can't be too funny, and the comedy can't be too sad. Action flicks can't be too deep, and "serious" movies have to be somewhat boring.

On the rare occasions when some movie comes along that breaks these rules, we usually get cinematic excellence. But with Confidence, don't be expecting any deviation from the format. Confidence is a fun, enjoyable, light caper movie. It doesn't pretend to be anything else. And for what it is, it's not half bad.
As a technical exercise Confidence is well-tuned, and the 98 minute running time feels just about right. The script brims with terrific dialogue, which the cast takes great relish in delivering, and the uniformly excellent performances never become forced or mannered .Dustin Hoffman gives a fresh and original performance that should have landed him at the very least an Oscar nomination. Like the length of the film is just about perfect. It's incredibly fast paced. This one movie that has re-watch-ability written all over it and an excellent flick that should not be missed.

It's not anything very new, but it's a solid film nonetheless, with a great performance by Dustin Hoffman.