movie review: confessions of a dangerous mind

" Confessions of a Dangerous Mind "
'Some things are better left top secret.'
Directed by George Clooney
Released: January 24th, 2003

For the second time in as many films, I decided to watch a movie that has been on my queue for ages. Confessions of a Dangerous Mind, based on the unauthorized autobiography of the same name, tells the supposedly true story of Chuck Barris, producer and sometimes host of many hit television game shows of the 60's and 70's, specifically The Dating Game, The Newlywed Game, and The Gong Show. The movie focuses on Barris' claims that he was not only a television producer, but a top secret contract killer for the Central Intelligence Agency.

Chuck Barris, played by the perfectly cast Sam Rockwell, is one of the most well known television faces of the 60's and 70's, having created one of the most successful early game shows on television, The Dating Game. It was a simple concept for a game: take a pretty girl, have her asks questions to three guys she cannot see, and then pick one at the end to go on a date with. His idea was laughed at by ABC, but in the end NBC took a chance and won. After The Dating Game moved to primetime television, Barris scored again with the creation of The Newlywed game, which forced newlywed couples to answer 8 questions about one another for a washer/dryer prize package. The film itself also focuses on the supposed secret life Barris led as a hitman for the CIA, where he claims to have personally killed 33 people. Although the CIA denies these claims, Barris holds his autobiography as the complete truth.

Sam Rockwell dazzles as Chuck Barris in a film that contains one of the best casts I have ever seen. Drew Barrymore stars as Barris' future wife, Penny Pacino; George Clooney, who also directed the film, plays CIA agent Jim Byrd; Julia Roberts as sexy, seductive CIA agent Patricia Watson; and Maggie Gyllenhaal as Barris' coworker on the set of American Bandstand. Matt Damon and Brad Pitt also have hilarious cameos as contestants on The Dating Game who lose to a chubby, mustache sporting man. Rockwell stole the show in such a convincing way, you'd think he might actually be Chuck Barris playing himself.

In his directorial debut, George Clooney impressed me with his style. It is evident he's an avid Coen brothers fan seeing as his style is strikingly similar. Using vivid colors, flawless scene changes, and an extremely chiaroscuro type feel in each scene, Clooney creates cinematic eye candy. Screenwriter Charlie Kaufman (Being John Malkovich, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, etc.) has claimed he was disappointed with Clooney's directorial style because he changed a lot of the elements Kaufman had in the original screenplay. Even if this is the case, Kaufman still wrote an incredible script, an absolutely perfect fit for the actors that were cast.

Confessions of a Dangerous Mind is an excellent film which I wholeheartedly recommend. For the first time in awhile, I came into a movie expecting something phenomenal and it was just that and so much more. This is the fifth film I've seen which was written by Charlie Kaufman, and just like the first four, I was positively riveted.

My rating: 9/10
Positives: Sam Rockwell with some of the best acting I've ever seen, fantastically directed, another terrific screenplay by Charlie Kaufman
Negatives: none that I can think of off the top of my head