Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2003)

Underappreciated movie

Everyone knows Charlie Kaufman for "Being John Malkovich." While that movie was great, this movie is right up there with it. The cast is wonderful, and the plot is so intriguing. It makes you almost believe something that is completely unbelievable, and for that, it is nothing short of brilliant. Sam Rockwell needs more starring roles; he is a great actor. October 2, 2008

Good debut

To my surprise, most of the critics who praised the film were correct. It's an excellent `little' film that stays within its bounds, exhibits relentless energy & creativity by director GC (whose career grows more & more admirable with each project), & provides a devastating portrait of a profoundly sad & depressed little man- not a delusional 1. CB had it all, & then gave up. Still, he's a multi-millionaire who's lived in France the last 20 years, so 1 wonders why he is so put off by something as ephemeral as a `reputation'?
As for the film, it is ostensibly told in flashbacks as CB pens the book in the early 1980s.... There are also plenty of funny scenes, where a chubby bachelor wins a date over 2 studly bachelors played by GC pals Brad Pitt & Matt Damon, & where another bachelor CB escorts to Europe turns out to be a KGB spy who is exchanged for CB after he is captured in East Berlin. In the end, though, the film succeeds on the chances taken by GC- from casting the little known Sam Rockwell as CB, to all the little filmic tricks described above, to ending the film on a very odd note- a pan & scan of the aged CB's visage. The most quoted passage in the film, & the book it came from, is `My name is Charles Hirsch Barris. I have written pop songs, I have been a television producer. I am responsible for polluting the airwaves with mind-numbing puerile entertainment. In addition, I have murdered 33 human beings.' Too many critics focused on the veracity of the last sentence, while ignoring the import of the 1st 3- which truly are at the heart of this film. Take my advice if you watch this film- ignore that last sentence & the rest of the film makes alot more sense.
September 10, 2008

charlie kauffman

charlie kauffman done well. i really liked the ending. (Somebody get "synecdoche, new york" released in the US.) July 27, 2008

It's a Hit! (pun intended)

I liked this film a lot, and make no mistake it IS a (ah-em) "film". It's dark, disturbing and fun all at the same time. The lead character, Chuck Berris (Sam Rockwell) - real life creator of The Dating Game, The Newlywed Game and The Gong Show - is thoroughly unlikeable and yet, I still wanted to watch.

Clooney's directorial debut is a huge success in my opinion, I was drawn in within 5 minutes and couldn't stop asking myself "could this really have happened? Is this true?" Then I started asking if Berris was merely delusional and felt this to be the case when the prisoner exchange occurred (I don't want to be a spoiler by citing the details). The film just kept me guessing from start to finish and that means the director, cast and writer all did their work very well. Clooney probably learned a lot from his work with the Cohen Brothers.

Every time I see Drew Barrymore, I fall in love with her all over again. She's always perfect as that funny, intelligent, naive, vulnerable type of woman and she pulls it off beautifully here.

The film also contains some surprise unspoken cameos. Watch for Brad Pitt as Bachelor Number One on the first aired episode of The Dating Game.

If you like the films The Cohen Brothers have created over the years, especially the darker ones, I think you will really like Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. July 27, 2008

good movie

no idea if Chuck Barris was really a CIA hitman, but it makes a fun story. November 1, 2007

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