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Independent films made on very tight budgets
tend to subscribe to the “Blair Witch” method, in which they set their
films up in the reality setting. This allows for a more guerilla style
of filmmaking, plus it’s eye-catching. The rest relies on the actors.
“The Confession” is a high concept film in the vein of “My Little Eye,”
and “In Memorium” that catches a film in the midst of events taking
place in a house that all lead to grisly murders that sets the on-screen
drama in motion. Curiously enough, the directors behind this are very
ambitious that they allow the audience to view the film from seven
different camera angles.
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Beyond the concept, “The
Confession” is a rather fascinating neo-noir that pits a
group of shady characters in a lavish living room to
confront a murder mystery that one of them could be
responsible for. Kebo and Liden create a “12 Angry Men” aura
in which the group is forced not only to confront their past
misdeeds but also face the truths about their friend who was
killed by a mysterious person, one their intent on
discovering in that room. |
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“The Confession” is very devoted
to its attempted sense of realism, as cameras view from the floor,
and up high, people sit in front of the camera, and the lens
malfunctions on occasion. The effect provides a memorable sense of
crucial evidence in a stoic setting that will show who murdered
whom. “The Confession” is a tense and chaotic bit of murder mystery
with an ending that shows you can create a gruesome and somewhat
disturbing finale with a small budget and a lot of creativity.
There doesn’t seem to be a whole lot of
ad-libbing performed here, and for a film that’s very devoted to its
realism, that’s not very beneficial. At times, you could sense the
actors spouting dialogue, and films that work on the reality setting
sticking to the raw footage motif rely on actor strength, which “The
Confession” doesn’t always succeed in. The dialogue is awfully trite,
especially at the start where the character who sets off the chain of
events feels the need to explain to everyone that he’s been in jail for
the past years and has come to confront them. Actions don’t always need
to be explained.
Meanwhile, there’s not an actor in the group who doesn’t chew the
scenery at one point or another. While you could sense the tension, the
actors often provide immensely over the top performances screaming at
the top of their lungs, yet never convincing us of the severity of the
situation and what lives are on the line in this occurrence. And while
we’re struggling to see who may or may not have murdered the women
they’re arguing over, most of the tension relies on conversations that
don’t always add to the suspense, thus the mystery isn’t as strong as it
could be.
The ability to view a murder mystery from
many angles is a very eye-catching gimmick that will keep audiences
watching. I just wish “The Confession” were a stronger mystery with a
better pay-off. While it’s far from a perfect film, it’s a competent and
ambitious piece of work.
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