365 Films A Year!

Confessions of a Dangerous Mind had a lot going for it. An interesting story (Chuck Barris’ life would be interesting even if you stuck to the verifiable television stuff), a good cast (Sam Rockwell is a chameleon and should be a bigger star than he is) and the celebrity of its freshman director (George Clooney) allowing them to attract notable names to smaller parts (Julia Roberts, Rutger Hauer, Maggie Gyllenhaal, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon, Clooney himself). But the film never comes together as a narrative or as a piece of entertainment.

The problem is mainly with Clooney’s direction. He somehow imbues even the obviously true stories of Barris’ rise through the ranks of television with a sense of unreality that prevents the audience from believing anything. It’s all disjointed, so once the subplot of Barris’ alleged involvement with the CIA is introduced, there’s no reason in the world to take it seriously.

And that’s too bad, because at the heart of the film is Rockwell, just working his butt off to recreate Barris is an amazing way. The way he carries himself, the way he talks; it all seems vividly authentic. But placed into these unbelievable settings, it doesn’t fit together. It doesn’t help that the same thrust of the spy subplot (the search for a mole among the elite assassin group) is painfully transparant. If you haven’t figured out who the mole is the moment the plot point is introduced, you just weren’t watching.

This film could have worked a number of ways. It could have been a bizarre, through-the-looking-glass film like Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas. It could have been a wacky reality-light comedy like Ed Wood. It might even have worked as a pal-around-with-my-friends film like Clooney’s “Ocean” films. Clooney tries to have the film be all these things and it ends up being none of them.

Still, fasn of Sam Rockwell will want to watch this one for his performance alone. It almost makes the whole thing worthwhile. Almost.

This entry was posted on Saturday, August 29th, 2009 at 11:22 am and is filed under 2002, Based on Book, Based on Real Events, Comedy, Crime, Drama, Espionage, Historical. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.