Common Sense Media Review
By Alistair Lawrence
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Small-scale, low-budget thriller has violence, language.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 15+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Watch
Videos and Photos
Confession
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
CONFESSION follows the tense fallout of a bloody dispute, which plays out inside a church, where an injured man takes a priest hostage.
Is It Any Good?
An intriguing setup -- a man with a gunshot wound enters a church just before it closes, while another injured person is already hiding inside it -- is never made the most of in this patchy thriller. Confession boasts a small but talented cast. Colm Meaney gives a solid performance as Father Peter, an even-tempered priest caught up in the confusion, while Stephen Moyer has enough screen presence to contrast Victor's quiet brooding with his occasional eruptions of violence, anger, and regret.
Where the movie stumbles is that it never manages enough invention in its single setting. The church feels like a convenient rather than a necessary place for this drama to unfold. It's left to lengthy speeches about characters' respective back stories for us to find out who they are, what's going on, and what they want, with the latter never truly convincing. Father Peter in particular is under-utilized, existing mainly to soak up information and ask questions for the audience's benefit. Creating an original story from such a small cast and single setting was always going to be difficult. But the late introduction of some new information and more minor characters ends the movie on a limp twist, rather than the bang that was intended. Think Reservoir Dogs without the bite.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the violence in Confession. Was it necessary to the story? How did it make you feel? Does exposure to violent media desensitize kids to violence?
Discuss the strong language used. Did it seem necessary or excessive? What did it contribute to the movie?
The movies uses a single setting, a small cast, and takes place in real time. What impact did this have on the drama?
Movie Details
- In theaters : January 21, 2022
- On DVD or streaming : May 17, 2022
- Cast : Colm Meaney , Stephen Moyer , Clare-Hope Ashitey
- Director : David Beton
- Inclusion Information : Female Movie Actor(s) , Black Movie Actor(s)
- Studio : Uncork'd Entertainment
- Genre : Thriller
- Run time : 81 minutes
- MPAA rating :
- Last updated : January 17, 2022
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