Review of Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002) by Daniel K — 05 Feb 2016

With a talented cast and screenplay by Charlie Kaufman, based on an intriguing story, George Clooney's directorial debut had a lot of potential. Sadly somehow it adds up to slightly less than the sum of its parts.

It's a decent movie, but not a great one. The tone of the film jerks between, cartoon quirkiness and darker, more serious musings about CIA assassinations. I'm sure that was intentional, but it doesn't quite work, and while the film seems like it has something serious to say, it's never quite clear what that is.

That aside, there's plenty to like here. The film looks great and is cleverly directed throughout. The underrated Sam Rockwell is really good as the off-beat sleazy protagonist, and Clooney and Rutger Hauer are good in supporting roles as cloak and dagger types.

Drew Barrymore and Julia Roberts do their best with what they are given, but their characters are not very well fleshed out, as is depressingly so often the case with roles for women. They also don't seem to age, despite the film taking place over a couple of decades.

It may not be as clever as it wants to be, but it's definitely worth watch if you like Sam Rockwell.