Confessions of a Dangerous Mind
Cast
Sam Rockwell as Chuck Barris
George Clooney as Jim Byrd
Drew Barrymore as Penny
Julia Roberts as Patricia
Rutger Hauer as Keeler
Directed by
George Clooney
Rater #2 has description and review
Rater #1
Has Not Seen Movie.
Rater #2
8/10. George Clooney's directorial debut is a compelling dramatic biopic
about "Gong Show" host Chuck Barris, who claims to be a hit man for
the CIA. Barris started out small, but decided to go for the big time
and move to New York, where he got a job at NBC. Soon he becomes a
manager type person, and creates an idea for a game show called "The
Dating Game". It becomes a hit, but he feels unfulfilled, even though
he has Penny (Drew Barrymore). Also, Jim Byrd (Clooney) from the CIA
recruits Barris to kill for the CIA. As we watch the movie, we don't
know which is true and which is a figment of his imagination. Think
of it as an R-rated Beautiful Mind.
Barris is played with great intensity by Sam Rockwell. Clooney took a
risk of planting a not-well-known name as the lead. With such star
power behind him like Clooney, Barrymore, and Julia Roberts, he
stands out. Rockwell has starred in such movies before like Heist and
The Green Mile, all three times with great acting. He brings out the
inner demons of Barris. Rockwell was exceptional, and exceptionally
believable. Even though he was billed fourth, he has his name out now
and we can expect him in larger things.
Many scenes were standout, with their camera angles and unique way of
playing it. At times it seemed like a play, with a wall disappearing,
for instance. However, Confessions of a Dangerous Mind wasn't as
funny as I was hoping. Sure, some scenes were quite funny (like the
scenes in the beginning where it was a montage of the f-word). It had
an authentic feel to the 60's (including the soundtrack), like Catch
Me If You Can did. At times, it had a documentary style to it, which
would have been more effective if they had more substance behind it,
such as more of the interviews or none at all. Many of the camera
shots were close-ups, which looked quite cool. I am a game show
aficionado, so I thought that most of the time would be spent on
Barris going onto the CIA, but it was evenly divided between the two,
so I was happy.
At times, the mood was light-hearted, almost satirical, but at other
points it was serious drama that poked at your emotions. As I said
before, Rockwell is definitely lead material. Clooney did a good job
portraying the CIA recruiter, and Barrymore is the other standout as
Barris' girlfriend. She and Rockwell, besides good chemistry, both
displayed true emotions. Roberts, as another CIA agent, put in her
usual mediocre performance, though she was better than normal.
However, many characters have no substance behind them, namely
Roberts, who was billed third and had about three scenes (which, I
guess, is better than Jennifer Aniston in Office Space).
Possible the only downpoint of the movie was that at times, it got
too trippy for its own good. Even Barris didn't know what was real
and what wasn't. It got a little too muddled in plot, such as who is
who, at times. When Barris sees everyone who he killed, that was just�
weird. Anyway, I would highly recommend Confessions of a Dangerous
Mind to about anyone.
Rater #3
Has Not Seen Movie.
Rater #4
Has Not Seen Movie
Rated R for language, sexual content and violence.
Running time: 113 minutes
Back Home