The Confession (2011)

Very disappointing...

Absolutely Fantastic

Story: It's very simple but honestly that is fine.

Like the great film, it's made with a great deal of visible affection both in front of and behind the camera.

I didn't like the movie much, especially because I didn't buy the moral and religious evolution of one of the protagonists. (Excuse me for being vague, but I'm trying to avoid at least the most blatant of spoilers.) One of the protagonists starts out an egregiously violent, cruel, rage-filled man, and then works his way to the light, sustained by a belief in God and God's forgiveness. Such radical transformations happen : for instance, there are hagiographies telling of pimps, robber barons or assassins turning into truly good men and dying as saints. However, such radical transformations tend to be very, very rare (which is the reason why they fire the imagination and turn into hagiographies). Moreover, one would hope that the people who do go through a genuine conversion a) would know and recognize the full horror of their misdeeds and b) would try to make amends, especially to the innocents they hurt the most. In this movie, however, there is very little to indicate that the man who bettered his life tried to repair the awful wreckage he left behind - which is a problem, since the movie insists that he does indeed have a full grasp of his obligations before God and man. He has become good, he has achieved wisdom and he realizes he has to help a certain someone, but he doesn't do so, because... ? Because ? If there is a "because" I certainly didn't get it. So this isn't a very good film, although it contains a sprinkling of valid observations, here and there, on sin, human fallibility and redemption. Sutherland and Hurt give insightful and compelling performances, but even they can't iron out the flaws in the story. For people interested in Roman-Catholic teachings or in the Roman- Catholic sacrament of confession : leave the movie be and go talk with a Roman-Catholic neighbor or colleague. Or look up a Roman-Catholic priest. Your discussion would be interactive, you might make a friend AND there is a sporting chance of getting offered a nice pint of beer.

I really enjoyed this series. I watched it all at once in the compiled version, it was seem-less, kinda.Hurt tells Sutherland "The boy was only 8...." He just left him shortly after his wife died. the kid in the flashback is like 3-ish.I know I'm being a little critical.The major problem for me is the burn, Sutherland shows Hurt the burn inflicted on him as a child, but literally 45 seconds further it shows hurt's flashback character throwing his wife into an electric range top oven not the gas one "...held his hand over the flame until I burnt him inside and out." but overall it was very good.

I will not give away spoilers. I just watched Chapter 8 and it was gut-wrenching! John Hurt's performance in this chapter just shows why he truly is one of the great actors of the last 40 years. When Hurt (as the Priest) confesses his sins from a past life, you truly feel his pain. Your stomach will twist into knots and you will want to cry with him. If this was a movie instead of a web-series, he would easily win an Academy Award. Sutherland's performance is top notch. The character is a level or two deeper than Jack Bauer, and although he is an assassin, we feel his pain and we want him to win his fight.This web-series is the best show that is currently on the Planet earth right now, whether it's TV, movies, internet, whatever.....nuff said!

Its a great thing, Hit-man and a Priest is a great combination of contemporary English literature, Robert Ludlum used this kind of theme in Bourne Series novels. Then Dan Brown also attempted something and there must be many more that I didn't get my hands on. Anyhow, this kind of series is a dream series for people of my generation, and it is very well written and well acted. Kiefer Sutherland is as perfectly cold as an assassin is supposed to be, he is amazing, it is just very cruel of the producers that they are making it so short, if they make it to proper length this series can beat the hell out of all the great shows, in fact after Dexter this is the first time that I really want to see something and wish it not to end.Hats off to Kiefer Sutherland.