Confidence (2003 film)

Last updated

Confidence
Confidence film.jpg
Theatrical release poster
Directed by James Foley
Written by Doug Jung
Produced byScott Bernstein
Michael Burns
Marc Butan
Starring Edward Burns
Rachel Weisz
Andy García
Paul Giamatti
Donal Logue
Luis Guzmán
Brian Van Holt
Franky G
Robert Forster
Morris Chestnut
Dustin Hoffman
Cinematography Juan Ruiz Anchía
Edited byStuart Levy
Music by Christophe Beck
Dave Crawford
Distributed by Lions Gate Films
Release date
  • April 25, 2003 (2003-04-25)
Running time
97 minutes
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
Budget$15 million [1]
Box office$23 million [1]

Confidence is a 2003 American crime drama film starring Edward Burns, Dustin Hoffman, Andy Garcia and Rachel Weisz, directed by James Foley, and written by Doug Jung.

Contents

Plot

A group of grifters rip off their latest mark and celebrate, while de facto leader of the group Jake Vig explains the art of the con. When one of the four, Big Al 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. Jake proposes that the grifters work for the King and steal money from Morgan Price, a rival who owns a bank.

Jake enlists the aid of his remaining partners, Gordo and Miles, and also convinces an independent con artist named Lily to round out their foursome. The King, a ruthless killer who has ADHD, demands that one of his men, Lupus, also come along.

The con involves bribing a bank vice president into wiring money offshore. The plan hits a snag when Special Agent Gunther Butan shows up in L.A., looking to finally bust Jake, whom he has followed for years. Butan forces corrupt LAPD detectives Omar Manzano and Lloyd Whitworth to switch their allegiance from Jake to him.

After hearing about Butan's arrival, a nervous Jake pulls the plug on the whole con. He screams at Lily, making her walk out. Lupus gets Jake to reconsider nixing the con, hinting that The King will torture and kill the grifters if the plan falls short. The con is back on, though now without Lily's help.

The bribed bank VP wires the money to Gordo in Belize. Gordo brings it to Ontario Airport, where he is met by both Butan and The King's men, both sides after the $5 million in a duffel bag. Butan arrests The King and confiscates the money.

Gordo disappears. Lupus, thinking the King has the money, reveals he was the one who killed Jake's grifter friend. Lupus holds Jake at gunpoint, but is shot by Travis, a henchman for Morgan Price. It turns out that when Lily walked out, she went straight to Price himself and revealed the entire con, which was taking place that minute. Price told Travis to locate Jake and find out exactly how the con was engineered, to stop such a thing from ever happening again.

Travis takes Jake to an abandoned lot and forces him to explain the entire story. A furious Lily takes out a gun and shoots Jake. Travis demands that he and Lily both disappear immediately. Minutes later, Butan arrives in a car and Jake sits up from a pool of blood, unharmed.

The final parts of the con are revealed. Lily's "quitting" was faked—a set-up to confuse Lupus. Butan is actually an old confidant of Jake's. He managed to "confiscate" the money and arrest The King at the same time. Butan has the money and it's split five ways. Jake was wearing squibs to fake his own death in the lot.

In the end, everyone was in on everything except for The King and Lupus (the first marks), Price and Travis (the second, bigger marks), and the two corrupt LAPD detectives, who have been arrested. The four grifters reunite and celebrate by driving off into the night.

Cast

Production

The movie was filmed on location at the Deep Nightclub in Hollywood, in Los Angeles and in Ontario, California.

Reception

On review aggregate website Rotten Tomatoes, Confidence holds a 69% approval rating based on 157 critics' reviews, with an average rating of 6.3/10. The website's critics consensus reads, "While it may not be the best con in town, the movie still manages to entertain with its colorful cast." [5]

Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times said, "Confidence is a flawless exercise about con games, and that is precisely its failing: It is an exercise. It fails to make us care, even a little, about the characters and what happens to them. There is nothing at stake. The screenplay gives away the game by having the entire story narrated in flashback by the hero, who treats it not as an adventure but as a series of devious deceptions which he can patiently explain to the man holding a gun on him--and to us. At the end, we can see how smart he is and how everybody was fooled, but we don't care. ... That's not to say the movie, directed by James Foley, is badly made. It's great-looking, with its film noir reds and greens and blues, its neon Bud Ice signs, its shadows and mean streets, its sleazy strip clubs and its use of wipes and swish-pans (sideways, up, down, sometimes two at a time). You know this is a crime movie, which is nice to be reminded of, except that every reminder also tells us it's only a movie, so that there is no possibility that we can commit to the characters, worry about them, want them to succeed or fail." [6]

Remake

The film was remade in Bollywood and was titled Ek Khiladi Ek Haseena .

Related Research Articles

<i>Trouble in Paradise</i> (1932 film) 1932 film

Trouble in Paradise is a 1932 American pre-Code romantic comedy film directed by Ernst Lubitsch and starring Miriam Hopkins, Kay Francis, and Herbert Marshall. Based on the 1931 play The Honest Finder by Hungarian playwright László Aladár, the lead characters are a gentleman thief and a lady pickpocket who join forces to con a beautiful woman who is the owner of a perfume company.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rachel Weisz</span> British actress and model (born 1970)

Rachel Hannah Weisz is a British actress and model. She began acting in stage and television productions in the early 1990s, and made her film debut in Death Machine (1994). She won a Critics' Circle Theatre Award for her role in the 1994 revival of Noël Coward's play Design for Living, and went on to appear in the 1999 Donmar Warehouse production of Tennessee Williams' drama Suddenly, Last Summer. Her film breakthrough came with her starring role as Evelyn Carnahan in the Hollywood action films The Mummy (1999) and The Mummy Returns (2001). Weisz went on to star in several films of the 2000s, including Enemy at the Gates (2001), About a Boy (2002), Runaway Jury (2003), Constantine (2005), The Fountain (2006), The Lovely Bones (2009) and The Whistleblower (2010).

<i>The Lizzie McGuire Movie</i> 2003 film by Jim Fall

The Lizzie McGuire Movie is a 2003 American teen comedy film directed by Jim Fall. The film serves as the finale of the Disney Channel television series of the same name, and was the first theatrical film based on a Disney Channel series. The film stars Hilary Duff, Adam Lamberg, Robert Carradine, Hallie Todd and Jake Thomas, and tells the story of Lizzie's graduation trip to Rome. It was released on May 2, 2003, by Buena Vista Pictures, peaking at number two at the domestic box office behind X2. The events of the film take place after the second and final season of Lizzie McGuire.

<i>Blue in the Face</i> 1995 film by Paul Auster, Wayne Wang

Blue in the Face is a 1995 American comedy film directed by Wayne Wang and Paul Auster. It stars Harvey Keitel leading an ensemble cast, including Giancarlo Esposito, Roseanne Barr, Michael J. Fox, Lily Tomlin, Victor Argo, Mira Sorvino, Lou Reed, Keith David, Jim Jarmusch, Jared Harris, RuPaul, and Madonna.

<i>Runaway Jury</i> 2003 American legal thriller film by Gary Fleder

Runaway Jury is a 2003 American legal thriller film directed by Gary Fleder, and starring John Cusack, Gene Hackman, Dustin Hoffman and Rachel Weisz. An adaptation of John Grisham's 1996 novel The Runaway Jury, the film pits lawyer Wendell Rohr (Hoffman) against shady jury consultant Rankin Fitch (Hackman), who uses unlawful means to stack the jury with people sympathetic to the defense. Meanwhile, a high-stakes cat-and-mouse game begins when juror Nicholas Easter (Cusack) and his girlfriend Marlee (Weisz) appear to be able to sway the jury into delivering any verdict they want in a trial against a gun manufacturer. The film was released October 17, 2003.

<i>The Grifters</i> (film) 1990 film by Stephen Frears

The Grifters is a 1990 American neo-noir crime thriller film directed by Stephen Frears, produced by Martin Scorsese, and starring John Cusack, Anjelica Huston, and Annette Bening. The screenplay was written by Donald E. Westlake, based on Jim Thompson's 1963 novel of the same name. The film won the Independent Spirit Award for Best Film and was declared one of the Top 10 films of 1990 by The National Board of Review of Motion Pictures.

<i>Circus</i> (2000 film) 2000 film by Rob Walker

Circus is a 2000 British/American neo noir crime film directed by Rob Walker and written by David Logan. The movie stars John Hannah, Famke Janssen, Peter Stormare, Brian Conley, Fred Ward and Eddie Izzard. It was released in the United Kingdom on 5 May 2000 and in the United States on 15 September 2000.

<i>Zulu Dawn</i> 1979 film by Douglas Hickox

Zulu Dawn is a 1979 American adventure war film about the historical Battle of Isandlwana between British and Zulu forces in 1879 in South Africa. The screenplay was by Cy Endfield, from his book, and Anthony Storey. The film was directed by Douglas Hickox. The score was composed by Elmer Bernstein.

<i>He Got Game</i> 1998 film directed by Spike Lee

He Got Game is a 1998 American sports drama film written, produced and directed by Spike Lee and starring Denzel Washington and Ray Allen. The film revolves around Jake Shuttlesworth, father of the top-ranked basketball prospect in the country, Jesus Shuttlesworth. Jake, in prison for killing his wife, is released on parole for a week by the state's governor to persuade his son to play for the governor's alma mater in exchange for a reduced prison sentence.

<i>Into the Night</i> (1985 film) 1985 film by John Landis

Into the Night is a 1985 American black comedy action thriller film directed by John Landis, starring Jeff Goldblum and Michelle Pfeiffer. The film has many cameo appearances made by various filmmakers and directors, including Landis himself. The soundtrack features the songs "Into the Night", "In the Midnight Hour" and "Lucille", performed by B.B. King.

<i>Revolver</i> (2005 film) 2005 fim by Guy Ritchie

Revolver is a 2005 action thriller film co-written and directed by Guy Ritchie, and starring Jason Statham, Ray Liotta, Vincent Pastore and André Benjamin. The film centres on a revenge-seeking confidence trickster whose weapon is a universal formula that guarantees victory to its user, when applied to any game or confidence trick.

<i>B.A.P.S.</i> 1997 female buddy comedy film by Robert Townsend

B.A.P.S is a 1997 American female buddy comedy film directed by Robert Townsend and starring Halle Berry, Natalie Desselle, and Martin Landau. The film was written by Troy Byer and was her first screenplay. The film received largely negative reviews from critics, although it has since been considered a cult classic, especially for Black Hollywood. In total it earned $7.3 million at the box office worldwide.

<i>Beautiful Creatures</i> (2000 film) 2001 film by Bill Eagles

Beautiful Creatures is a 2000 British crime film directed by Bill Eagles and starring Susan Lynch and Rachel Weisz. Lynch received a British Independent Film Award nomination for her role.

<i>Matchstick Men</i> 2003 film by Ridley Scott

Matchstick Men is a 2003 black comedy film directed by Ridley Scott and based on Eric Garcia's 2002 novel of the same name. The film stars Nicolas Cage, Sam Rockwell, and Alison Lohman. The film premiered on September 2, 2003 at the 60th Venice International Film Festival and was released in the United States on September 12, 2003. It received generally positive reviews and grossed $65 million against its $62 million budget.

<i>Traveller</i> (1997 film) 1997 American film

Traveller is a 1997 American crime comedy-drama film directed by Jack N. Green in his directorial debut. The film stars Bill Paxton, Mark Wahlberg, Julianna Margulies, James Gammon, and Luke Askew. The story follows a man and a group of nomadic con artists in North Carolina. The film premiered at the South by Southwest Film Festival on March 8, 1997 and received a limited release on April 18, 1997.

<i>The Brothers Bloom</i> 2008 American caper comedy-drama film by Rian Johnson

The Brothers Bloom is a 2008 American caper comedy-drama film written and directed by Rian Johnson. The film stars Rachel Weisz, Adrien Brody, Mark Ruffalo, Rinko Kikuchi, Maximilian Schell, and Robbie Coltrane. The film went into wide release in May 2009.

<i>The Sting II</i> 1983 film by Jeremy Kagan

The Sting II is a 1983 American comedy film and a sequel to The Sting, again written by David S. Ward. It was directed by Jeremy Paul Kagan and stars an entirely original cast including Jackie Gleason, Mac Davis, Teri Garr, Karl Malden and Oliver Reed.

<i>The Grifters</i> (novel)

The Grifters is a noir fiction novel by Jim Thompson, published in 1963.

<i>The Samaritan</i> Film by David Weaver

The Samaritan, known as Fury in the United Kingdom, is a 2012 crime drama film co-written and directed by David Weaver, and starring Samuel L. Jackson. A trailer was released on its website.

References

  1. 1 2 "Confidence". Box Office Mojo . Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  2. 1 2 Sargeant, Amy (2016). Screen Hustles, Grifts and Stings: Stings, Grifts, Hustles and the Long Con. p. 63. ISBN   978-1137466884.
  3. 1 2 "Andy Garcia's 'Confidence'". www.cbsnews.com. April 21, 2003. Archived from the original on July 23, 2019. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  4. ↑ "Confidence". EW.com. February 6, 2003. Archived from the original on July 23, 2019. Retrieved July 23, 2019.
  5. ↑ "Confidence". Rotten Tomatoes . Retrieved August 13, 2023.
  6. ↑ Ebert, Roger (April 25, 2003). "Confidence". RogerEbert.com. Archived from the original on May 10, 2015. Retrieved April 23, 2015.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.