"Clooney
Shows Promise But Confessions Fails to Satisfy"
Chuck
Barris in many ways is the man responsible for reality
television. He was, after all, the creative force behind such
shows as “The Dating Game, “The Newlywed Game” and “The Gong
Show.” While I can’t prove Barris is the reason I’ve had to
suffer through agonizing discussions with my girlfriends over
“Temptation Island” and “Survivor,” at the very least I do think
“Blind Date” owes him one huge debt of gratitude.
But
according to Barris’ unauthorized autobiography (just try
figuring that two-word combination out), being a wealthy talk
and game show innovator were the least of his talents. At the
height of his popularity with the networks he claims to have
been clandestinely working for the CIA as an assassin, killing
33 people in a little over a decade’s time.
Charlie
Kaufman’s adaptation of Barris’ novel Confessions of a
Dangerous Mind takes this conceit and runs with it with the
foot pressed square on lunacy. Was he a killer? Did the events
in his book really happen? Kaufman offers no answers to these
questions and, in all honesty, he really doesn’t have to. The
conceit in itself is enough to get me in the door; too bad it
wasn’t quite enough then to hold my attention.
Featuring
an all-star cast and the directorial debut of actor George
Clooney, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind is nothing if
not ambitious. Most actors who try their hand behind the camera
try something actor-driven; Kevin Spacey with Albino
Alligator, Mel Gibson with The Man Without a Face,
Campbell Scott and Stanley Tucci with Big Night; but
Clooney is goes after something much bigger and far more
cinematic. Kaufman’s script is steeped in intricacies and the
concept is so flamboyantly flush with surreal visual possibility
that the potential for catastrophe is very high.
Well,
while the former Batman doesn’t score a direct hit with
Confessions, it isn’t a total failure. If anything, Clooney
shows engaging promise as a director, able to set scenes with a
surrealistic abandon that’s quite beguiling. He sets up some
sequences masterfully, most notably a startling one towards the
end of the film at a swimming pool. Eerily lit, building slowly,
the scene evolves delicately and with precision, revealing a
shockingly beautiful surprise reminiscent of a moment Claude
Chabrol routinely pulls off in his films.
So why
doesn’t it all work? While Clooney succeeds at creating a
credibly dreamlike atmosphere for all the zaniness, he doesn’t
succeed at creating any emotional heft. Confessionsof
a Dangerous Mind is static in many ways and while individual
scenes pay off, the connective tissue between them strains
noticeably at the seams.
Don’t
blame Sam Rockwell. Playing Barris, the wonderful character
actor known for sterling work in films as diverse as Heist,
Galaxy Quest and Lawn Dogs provides a stellar,
show stopping turn here. Too young to really remember “The Gong
Show” I can only guess at the manically silly genius Barris
reportedly possessed. Regardless, Rockwell effortlessly nails
just that sort of energy. He’s brilliant and whether dancing
wildly with Gene-Gene the Dancing Machine, coyly flirting with
girlfriend Penny (a quite fetching Drew Barrymore) or calmly
dispatching a mark the actor is simply a joy to watch in action.
Clooney
himself shows up as Barris’ CIA handler Jim, coolly sashaying
through the film with an aloof aplomb. Even better is Rutger
Hauer as a fellow operative named Keeler. Weighed down and weary
from the years of killing, Hauer hasn’t had this rich a role to
play in years. If anything, the movie could use more of him for
in Keeler’s too-brief scenes with Barris Confessions
comes alive in all its black comic glory, reveling in the depths
of Kaufman’s screenplay. Julia Robert’s much talked about
presence really isn’t all that special. She’s cold and effective
as a femme fatale helping handle many of Barris’ assignments,
but nothing more.
Unfortunately, it all moves much to slowly and didn’t draw me in
quite as much as I kept hoping it would. There is so much about
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind that is audaciously
effective that the film’s inability to hold my attention came as
a bit of a surprise. I think the main problem is that Clooney
doesn’t play up the dark humor of the piece quite as much as he
should, bringing a level of seriousness to it that just doesn’t
fit. There isn’t an emotional connection to the people or
actions taking place on screen, and while I was impressed with
some of the performances and filmmaking the film as a whole left
me cold.
Still,
like Clint Eastwood (Play Misty for Me) and Kevin Costner
(Dances With Wolves) Clooney tackles an obscenely
complicated film his first time out and shows great skill and
promise as a director. I only hope his career tract follows the
former and steers clear of the apocalyptic Postman
abominations of the latter. One can only keep their fingers
crossed.
