Confidence

Released 2003
Stars Edward Burns, Rachel Weisz, Andy Garcia, Dustin Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Brian Van Holt, Franky G.
Directed by James Foley

"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.

Summary by Roger Ebert

This movie is mildly entertaining, but it doesn't give the audience any credit. Everything is laid out and described in such detail that there aren't any surprises. A good con movie should jerk you around and make you wonder who's conning who, but this movie does everything except give us a score sheet. --Bill Alward, Mar 13, 2004