Confidence (2003)

Jake Vig (Burns) is a consummate grifter about to pull his biggest con yet, one set to avenge his friend's murder. But his last scam backfired, leaving him indebted to a mob boss (Hoffman) and his enforcer.

Director:

James Foley

Writer:

Doug Jung

Stars:

Edward Burns, Rachel Weisz, Dustin Hoffman

Cast

Cast overview, first billed only:
Edward Burns	...	Jake Vig
Rachel Weisz	...	Lily
Morris Chestnut	...	Travis
Leland Orser	...	Lionel Dolby
Louis Lombardi	...	Big Al
Paul Giamatti	...	Gordo
Brian Van Holt	...	Miles
Donal Logue	...	Whitworth
Luis Guzmán	...	Manzano (as Luis Guzman)
April O'Brien	...	Attractive Blonde
Jay Giannone	...	Car Salesman
Tommy 'Tiny' Lister	...	Harlin
Franky G	...	Lupus
Dustin Hoffman	...	King
Melissa Lawner	...	Katie

Storyline

What Jake Vig doesn't know just might get him killed. A sharp and polished grifter, Jake has just swindled thousands of dollars from the unsuspecting Lionel Dolby with the help of his crew: Insideman Gordo, Shills Miles, and Big Al--and two corrupt LAPD officers, Lloyd Whitworth and Omar Manzano. But when both Lionel and Big Al turn up dead, it becomes clear that Lionel wasn't just any mark--as Jake soon learns, he was an accountant for eccentric crime boss Winston King. Never one to shy away from a challenge, Jake offers to repay The King by pulling off the biggest con of his career. The mark? Morgan Price, a banker with deep ties to organized crime. With so much riding on the outcome, Jake decides to bring in a brash, blonde pickpocket named Lily, who joins the crew in a complex scheme involving corporate loans, creative accounting, wire transfers and off-shore accounts. Jake and his crew will have to stay one step ahead of both the criminals and the cops to finally settle their ...

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Plot Keywords:

grifter | con | accounting | banker | organized crime | 

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Taglines:

Who's conning who?

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Genres:

Crime | Thriller

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Motion Picture Rating (MPAA)

Rated R for language, violence and sexuality/nudity

Details

Official Sites:

Lions Gate Entertainment Virgin.net

Country:

USA Canada Germany

Language:

English

Release Date:

25 April 2003 (USA)

Also Known As:

Ambiciones secretas

Filming Locations:

Deep Nightclub - 1707 N. Vine Street, Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, USA

Box Office

Budget:

$15,000,000 (estimated)

Opening Weekend:

$70,362 (South Africa) (26 September 2003)

Gross:

$104,242 (South Africa) (3 October 2003)

Company Credits

Production Co:

Lions Gate Films, Cinerenta Medienbeteiligungs KG, Ignite Entertainment

Technical Specs

Runtime:

97 min

Sound Mix:

DTS Dolby Digital SDDS

Color:

Color

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Did You Know?

Trivia

The word "fuck" is said 130 times.

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Goofs

The blood spatter on Jake's shirt changes in the opening scene.

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Quotes

[first lines]
Jake: So I'm dead. And I think it's because of this redhead.

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Connections

Featured in Anatomy of a Scene: Confidence (2003)

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Soundtracks

"Clocks"
Performed by Coldplay
Written by Guy Berryman, Jon Buckland, Will Champion and Chris Martin
Published by Careers-BMG Publishing, Inc. (BMI) o/b/o BMG Music Publishing Ltd.
Courtesy of Capitol Records
Under License from EMI Film & TV Music

User Reviews

Perfectly paced, excellent acting, beautiful con scheme

Definitely one of the best con-artist movies ever. Throughout the movie, I kept thinking of the many possible twists possible, but I never really saw the final big twist - and thought it could all come together so nicely and believable. The movie is paced smoothly (there are no tedious scenes or moments you feel you've missed something), the acting is excellent (Hoffman's character seems overdone at first, but the creepy-weird character he plays is believable and, therefore, all the more serious and scary), the cons they play are very smart (and convincing), and the way it all comes together at the end is just beautiful (although the overall scheme is complex and plays many twists on the audience, it is not at all difficult to follow what 'really' happens). All in all, a very enjoyable movie, with genuine suspense, characters we get to like (and even care about - to the amount possible for grifters), excellent acting and a worthy end. 7/10 (good movie - not great, but above the average)