True Confessions

Day 196 - 7/15/09 - Movie #196

BEFORE: Another film I'm going into mostly blind - I picked this up during my DVR search on "De Niro" - I know it's set in the 1940's and also stars the OTHER Bobby D. - Robert Duvall.

THE PLOT: A Catholic priest and a homicide detective are brothers drawn together after many years apart..

AFTER: And De Niro's a priest again! That's four in a row - you'd almost think I planned this or something... De Niro's priest has to deal with some shady characters in the construction business in the 1940's, to get some schools and convents built, and Duvall plays his brother investigating a brutal murder, so their worlds intersect in a long flashback.

Plot points are revealed in the church confessional (I think), but very little is revealed in the framing sequences, which are set in the 1960's. So I don't really see the point of structuring the film this way...

There are also a couple of classic character actors, like Charles Durning, Dan Hedaya and Burgess Meredith - it's an interesting period piece if you like the 1940's, but there's not much of a plot, and even less resolution to said plot.

RATING: 4 out of 10 stag films

DENIR-O-METER: 3 - De Niro seems to be holding back, so Duvall's character can let loose and lose his temper in a few notable scenes.