Masterpiece Cinema - Confessions of a Dangerous Mind

This week, Masterpiece Cinema casts its dread eye over 'Confessions of
a Dangerous Mind.'

Hola. You all had a nice week? Thats good to hear. On with the show.

This week
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind

Starring Sam Rockwell, Drew Barrymore, George Clooney, Julia Roberts.
Written by Chuck Barris (Book) and Andy Kaufman (Script).
Directed by George Clooney.
Genre: Drama / Thriller / Comedy
Released: 2002
Running time: 113 min.
Rated: R (American rating for language, sexual content and violence).
IMDb link: http://us.imdb.com/title/tt0290538/


In addition to writing this column, I also do movie reviews for a local
radio station. It's the smallest station in the city, so whenever the
distributors are sending out tickets to their advanced media
screenings, I happen to be right down at the bottom of the pecking
order. Instead of an invite to see a sneak peak of the latest Lord of
the Rings film, I get to see Agent Cody Banks 2: Destination London.
(And no, before you ask, Agent Cody Banks will never be getting
featured here. So stop sending me those emails!)

Of course,
every now and then, a real gem comes along that makes it all very, very
Poster worthwhile. When the invitation to a screening for Confessions
of a Dangerous Mind showed up, I practically fell over myself in
delight. I had been really looking forward to seeing this movie, and
now I was going to get to see it before it was released, for free.
Gotta love the perks of the job.

So I went along to the
screening, extremely excited to see this very cool-looking film. And
you know how when youre excited about seeing something, it usually
turns out to be crap? Well, this time my excitement turned out to be
justified. Confessions of a Dangerous Mind really is a great movie.


For those who dont know; Confessions of a Dangerous Mind is based on
the biography of the same name by Chuck Barris, creator (and host) of
such game shows as The Dating Game, The Newlywed Game, and The Gong
Show. In it, Barris claimed that, in addition to serving as the
originator of some truly crap television, he was, at the same time,
moonlighting as a hitman for the CIA. You already know why someone
would want to make a movie of this.

The book was adapted by
Charlie Kaufman, screenwriter of Being John Malkovich, Adaptation, and
Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind. So, of course, its quirky, its
original, and it has that Kaufman energy to it that practically
everyone loves. The film also serves as the directorial debut of George
Clooney.



Clooney is Central Intelligence?




I didn't like George Clooney when I first came to know of him you can
blame Joel Shumachers terrible Batman & Robin for that. But in
everything else Ive seen him in, hes proven to be a charismatic and
talented performer. In this, he also proves himself an extraordinary
director (ignoring what Kaufman had to say about Clooney more or less
ruining his script, which I just don't get).



Rockwell?
Barris? Sam Rockwell plays Barris with what Im assured is a very
disconcerting likeness. His dreams of being a television producer
slowly start getting hi-jacked when a CIA agent (Clooney) handpicks him
to train as an assassin. Soon, Chuck is jetting all over the world,
killing all sorts of people while still trying to maintain his game
show career and a relationship with his girlfriend (Barrymore). The
great thing about this movie is that it never tries to prove or deny
Barris claims. It simply tells you what he says happened, and allows
you to make up your mind for yourself. The fact that it all seems so
plausible just adds to the fun of it.


Besides its
quirky concept and obviously great script, the success of this film
falls on two elements; the strength of the performances and Clooneys
confident, beautiful direction. For a first-timer, his work is
fantastic but what do you expect from a man whos been on film and TV
sets all his life? Rockwell shines in this, his first lead role. For a
change, Barrymore manages to keep from being her usual, lispy, somewhat
annoying self as Chucks long-suffering girlfriend.


Barry-more and Rock-well

If
I were to sum up Confessions in one word, itd simply be this: cool.
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind is a cool movie. And thats why its this
weeks Masterpiece Cinema pick. Hope you all like it.

Next week: We take a time-trip back to the 80's for some great B-grade cheese.