CONFIDENCE: more twists than a Chubby Checker convention

Think 'The Usual Suspects' meets 'Ocean’s Eleven' meets 'Pulp Fiction' and you’ll be halfway to appreciating just how good this film is.
CONFIDENCE doesn’t claim to be the most original crime thriller ever, but it is much more than just another smart-alec example of the genre.
The unfeasibly photogenic Edward Burns stars as Jake Vig, king of the scam artists. He and his crew of polished professionals have just hustled thousands of dollars out of an unsuspecting small time crook, but when the victim and one of his gang turn up dead, Jake realises they must have upset someone pretty big.
That someone is eccentric L.A. crime boss Winston King (Dustin Hoffman). “The King” abhors violence unless it can be used to get him what he wants, and he makes it quite clear he’s less than delighted with Vig’s little stunt. Vig refuses to be intimidated, but offers to repay him by pulling off the biggest swindle of his career.
The scene’s set for a con so complex it requires your full and undivided attention if you’re not to be scammed yourself, and even then I can’t make any promises.
When a glamorous pickpocket (Rachel Weisz), a ruthlessly determined FBI agent (Andy Garcia) and 2 crooked LA cops are added to the mix, Vig rapid realises that just maybe this is a scam too far.
What makes CONFIDENCE so enjoyable is the cast. After a string of unsuccessful romantic comedies, Vig is the role Burns was born to play, while Hoffman oozes sadism as the scumbag crime boss, gnawing at the scenery but managing to stay just this side of overacting.
Garcia’s gamble of playing against type as scruffy and seedy more than pays off, while Weisz acquits herself well in her first big Hollywood movie, seductive and sassy, and delivering a far more credible American accent than many other British thesps.
If you’re a sucker for film noir laced with humour, CONFIDENCE is right up your dark, rain drenched alley.