True Confessions (1981)
Genre: Thriller / Drama
Duration: 108 minuten
Country:
United States
Directed by: Ulu Grosbard
Stars: Robert De Niro, Robert Duvall and Charles Durning
IMDb score:
6,3 (10.201)
Releasedate: 25 September 1981
True Confessions plot
"Two brothers out to save everyone else. But they couldn't save each other."
Des Spacelly is a priest in a quiet, remote village. One day, a prostitute is murdered and a cop is sent to investigate the murder. It turns out to be Des' brother, who only sees him now after years. In the past they could trust each other, but now the officer suspects that his brother has something to do with the murder.
Actors and actresses
Father Des Spellacy
Det. Tom Spellacy
Jack Amsterdam
Frank Crotty
Dan T. Campion
Cardinal Danaher
Msgr. Seamus Fargo
Brenda Samuels
Howard Terkel
Mrs. Fazenda
Reviews & comments
Insignificance
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- 3220 messages
- 5589 votes
A laborious film with an unsatisfying episode. Nevertheless, it has enough to really stir things up. Murder, intrigue, corruption, sex, and shady maneuvers within the church; it’s all there, but a charged atmosphere is lacking. It yields little more than a rather austere, dry record of a number of events in 1940s LA, while simultaneously scrutinizing the two brothers.
Strong performances by De Niro and Duvall (especially the latter, his cop has just a bit more bite) and no shortage of moral themes, but even that doesn't really take off. Loose fragments with dangling threads. Grosbard was unable to unite it into a coherent whole. Consequently, the climax is lukewarm. As if they simply decided to call it quits with a weak epilogue to conclude. Considerable potential, but mediocre direction.
Translated from Dutch · View original
scorsese
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- 13487 messages
- 11305 votes
A good crime/murder mystery set in the late 1940s. Despite the slow pace and the fairly complicated plot, the film is not boring. It is also not bothersome that the ending certainly does not provide all the answers. Robert DeNiro and Robert Duvall are convincing as the brothers who are more or less at odds with each other, yet have more in common than they realize.
Translated from Dutch · View original
Filmkriebel
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- 10194 messages
- 4767 votes
An example of how boring you can make a film, even though everything is there to make something good out of it. Too many silences, too many meaningless scenes, sleep-inducing string music. And despite the presence of heavyweights like De Niro and Duvall, not a spark of authenticity can be found in their bond as brothers. No, this is no party, and it should come as no surprise that this is a forgotten film that only resurfaces when you examine De Niro's filmography.
True Confessions is a sort of noir film without the stylistic hallmarks of a noir, and it reminded me a bit of Black Dahlia. The murder of a prostitute causes all sorts of shady dealings to fester, in which a corrupt businessman and notorious womanizer seems to be involved (Durning), but also the policeman's own brother, a priest. I really cannot give this a high score.
Translated from Dutch · View original
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