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by R.J. Carter Published: October 10, 2005
What follows is, for the most part, a tautly suspenseful story. Chris Pine is Luther Scott, a trouble-making boy who sells to the other students of St. Michael's Prep School the things they can't have -- which at St. Michael's is everything. Beer, movies, porn magazines, prescription drugs. You need it, Luther gets it. When a surprise visit by Father Thomas (X-Men's Bruce Davison) interrupts a raucous kegger, all the boys are brought in for interrogation. To be expected, someone rats out Luther's little business, and Father Thomas expels Luther and his roommate Robbie (although they will remain students until the end of the week.) Luther soon learns who turned him in and, in an effort to put some fear into the boy, pushes him off an elevated walkway to his death. (Oh, and did we mention Luther was in one of his many disguises, wearing priestly robes to sneak up on his victim?) Luther quickly plans to cover his tracks. The first thing he does is go to Father Michael Kelly (Cameron Daddo) and confesses to the murder. Father Kelly is bound by the church not to break the sanctity of the confessional. But events conspire to point the police toward Father Kelly as the prime suspect -- events that Luther helps along when he can -- and when the police learn of another grisly death in the priest's past, the police -- particularly the Catholic-bashing Detective Fletcher (Peter Greene) -- become convinced they have their man. Chris Pine plays the irredeemable villain to the fullest, portraying a truly scary character. He's an unbeliever in a setting of religion that offsets his evil nicely. Even when Luther has his chance at redemption, when the viewer thinks the director is ready to lay out the moral message that anyone can find forgiveness, Luther makes it clear that he's just not that kind of guy: "I've sinned and I'm not sorry." Father Kelly tries to convince Luther that he's not truly as evil as he thinks he is. "You don't know me," Luther retorts. "Every day I try to know me, and I hate what I see. I can't escape myself." The blood in this film is largely relegated to staining the shirts of those who are near the victims, rather than spattering the victims themselves. The film is rated R for violence, but it's not the explosive gore you usually see. People get shot but you don't see their bodies fly apart -- rather you see them bandaged later with a red splotch visible, a casual way of toning down the aggression. With an ending that's both oddly edited as well as anticlimactic, Confession nevertheless stands above other religious-themed films for presenting characters of faith who remain true to that faith, and who are vindicated rather than vilified. It's a tale of conscience and consequences, relying more on events than special effects to involve the audience. Bonus Features on this DVD include a behind-the-scenes featurette, cast biographies, and a selection of outtakes. |
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