The Confirmation (2016)

Lack of good storyline.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

This is a dark and sometimes deeply uncomfortable drama

This is a beautiful little art house film about an alcoholic father who has his son for a weekend - and they bond of a series of misadventures were they work as a team to get back the father's box of stolen tools. The father is played by the masterful Clive Owen - who is seemingly solid in any project he works on. The film has one great scene in particular - where Clive experiences alcohol withdrawals. As a recovering alcoholic myself - who has been clean five years - I have gone through withdrawals - and it is a harrowing experience and to see this played out live - and the fear it puts the child through - it really hit home to me.The performance of the children actors in this movie is also noteworthy - as they hold their own and deliver some masterful work. I believe this was a remake of a foreign film called The Bike Thief - but I have never seen that movie and I just thought this one was solid.We live in a world where Hollywood makes a fortune off terrible films that have no soul - and it is always great to see a solid dramatic film with great characters.

The film makers chose not to feature the intense desperation of the Italian film The Bicycle Thief, used zero profanity, and a deadpan kid. Those may actually be reasons why some would dislike this film, but I found it all oddly seductive. Like another reviewer mentioned, nobody was vicious or truly mean here. Almost everyone, despite their poverty, had soul. Imagine a world where even in a gray desperate setting, people restrain themselves from the savagery that such places evoke in the real world.Some may ask why you need to cast a British guy in a film set in Washington and filmed in Canada. But I found Owen endearing and the dialogue he was given sublime. Someone decided that his face and demeanor fit the character, and I believe they did. Good call.Most of the "stars" are not really stars, and I appreciated seeing them get some work. Robert Forster is perfect for these roles, and Maria Bello totally looked the part. I don't know why they needed to make the boy be eight years old. The actor was way older than that. Clearly an eight year old would not be able to think or act as this one did. They should have made him 10, although the actor was 12. The unbelievable age thing was an awkward glitch for me.I'm glad they didn't use a soundtrack. The silence helped illustrate the depressed nature of the town. I've been to a depressed town in Washington. It's real.For whatever reasons, these film makers made the choice to present this story in a sort of Jim Jarmusch existentially absurd way. I liked that approach and did not judge it by other potential ways of doing it. I accepted it for what it was.

Strike 1 - Walt goes through extreme alcohol withdrawals, a la Nicholas Cage in Leaving Las Vegas. In the context of this movie this is completely unbelievable. The film simply does not establish the amount of drinking that must be done to get to that point of that kind of withdrawal. Walt has one drink, one drink in the bar scene, and that all we see of him actually drinking, and later that night he is going through withdrawals.Strike 2 - When Walt & Anthony turn the car on (the one without brakes), Walt calls the music "metal," when it isn't even close to metal. A very sad way for the writers to be exposed as old and out of touch.Strike 3 - When Walt and Anthony accompany Patton Oswalt's character to the first guy on the list of potential tool thieves, they confront a man in his driveway. The man says he is in a good mood because he just got back from camping. The dude is black. When was the last time you saw black people camping? Let alone a black family? I think Chris Rock once said black people know better than to hang out in the middle of the forest surrounded by rednecks.And furthermore, when some tools get stolen out of the back of a pick-up in small town America, the film paint this picture where one of the local thieves must of done it; local thieves who all know each other and talk about their latest thievery... In reality its just some random meth head who sees an opportunity to make a quick buck and acts on it. Any amateur thief knows not to brag about it. This film is just unbelievable and implausible on so many levels. I could go on and on. Bad film. Waste of time. The only reason it gets 2 stars as opposed to one- is somehow they convinced a few notable actors to do this film- and the acting is the only standout in this film.

Walt, (Clive Owen) a recovering alcoholic, has his 8-year old son, Anthony (Jaeden Lieberher) for the weekend while his mother, Bonnie, (Maria Bello) and stepfather go away to a religious retreat. When Walt's specialized finishing tools are stolen he and Anthony get to know each other better trying to get back those tools that Walt desperately needs for his next job on Monday.This opens with Anthony in the Confessional Box and he cannot come up with any sins for the past 8-weeks. The Priest - almost at wits end - tries his best to help jog Anthony's memory but nothing surfaces. Anthony is undecided whether or not he should do his Confirmation. We see some unfortunate things happen to Walt that Anthony is surprised at but comes to understand that Walt is really a good person who is trying to do the right thing. We see Walt almost give in to alcohol, but Anthony becomes the adult and thwarts the attempt. Walt suspects Anthony but never lets him know it. Walt is always the good father, but acts more like a good friend and because of this Anthony gains new respect for him. Walt's friend Otto (Robert Forster) explains to Anthony what withdrawal symptoms are when Walt scares Anthony who thought his father was very drunk. It is possible that an adult Alien from outer space came to Earth and inhabited Jaeden as Anthony as we see him act more like an adult than an 8-year old. It's either that or Jaeden Lieberher is more than really good, or it was the Director doing all this. Whatever this is, it works big time. The chemistry between Walt and Anthony is so good you don't care how long it will take to find those tools. The banter between them including fatherly advice about Confirmation and Anthony's acceptance of it is pure gold. The dialogues are sincere and honest. And we see humor injected at times. You never want this to end.Clive Owen is one of the best actors around, and should be considered to be the next Bond, James Bond. My next choice would be Jim Caviezel. Will Smith would be my third choice, but I digress…………………This almost closes with Anthony in the Confessional box again listing sin after sin to the same priest who is now besides himself listening to the many sins Anthony spouts. And this is just one day after his last Confession. I would list them but then I would give away many of the things that happened to both of them as they went about finding those tools. So you see, Anthony (or that Alien) wasn't all that innocent in this trek. This does close with Bonnie watching Walt and Anthony saying good-bye until the next week-end and she knows Anthony's Confirmation will happen and Walt will be there. This is a great family movie and you may wish there were more movies like this. (we can only hope) (10/10)Violence: Not really just a little scuffle at a Pawn shop. Sex: No. Nudity: No. Language: Small stuff and not much of it.