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Confidence (2003) Edward Burns .................... Jake Vig Rachel Weisz ...................... Lily Morris Chestnut .................. Travis Leland Orser .................... Lionel Dolby Synopsis Bathed in self-conscious cool, Confidence is a heist caper in which the heist is unimportant. As you might expect from Glengarry Glen Ross director James Foley, this pulpy concoction is more interested in giving good actors a lot of hip, salty dialogue as they scheme their way to the royal scam. It's a poor man's Ocean's Eleven, just as enjoyable in its own way, beginning when con artist Jake (Edward Burns) discovers he's accidentally stolen from an eccentric crime boss (Dustin Hoffman, oozing threat in a fine character turn). Promising to make amends by pulling the biggest con of his career, Jake adds a feisty pickpocket (Rachel Weisz) to his crew, which includes scene-stealer Paul Giammatti and Andy Garcia as a disheveled FBI agent (or is he?). With a cast like this you can't go wrong, but Confidence cons itself into thinking it's original, while Burns's abundant voice-overs state the obvious and plot twists unfold with minimal surprise. It hardly matters; Confidence may be derivative, but it's still recommendable. From Amazon.com Availability Video and DVD; easy to find. The Leland Factor Despite where the Internet Movie Database places him in the credits, Leland only appears at the beginning of the movie. However, he's pretty much the impetus for the entire plot. Allison's Review I only watched Leland's appearance, so I can't say anything for the rest of the movie. I felt he was worth the price of the DVD rental, though. Leland in full-on freakout mode is just pure fun. Lionel Dolby is incredibly uptight and nervous, not to mention a bit naive, so he shrieks at Edward Burns a lot. I say naive because Lionel obviously thought he could make a run for it after getting fleeced by Burns and company (he's shown hurriedly packing a suitcase), but then Deebo from Friday shows up to take him to their mutual boss, and Leland then makes it obvious that Lionel knows he's screwed. We learn shortly thereafter that Lionel "came down with a sudden case of drowning". Pesky, those. Anyway, that clues in our heroes that they are also up the creek, so Lionel's death gets to serve a grand purpose. Verdict: A must-see for any Leland fan. /back |