So last night on the recommendation of someone on the Facebook page I watched Confessions of a Dangerous Mind (2002).
I’ve been meaning to watch this film for a while and nearly did while I was going through my Sam Rockwell phase a couple of months back.
Weirdly (and embarrassingly) I always thought it was Benicio Del Toro on the cover - and again, I knew absolutely nothing about the film other than who I “thought” was in it.
It turns out the film is an adaptation of TV show creator, producer and host Chuck Barris’ 1984 “unauthorised autobiography” of the same name. It was also George Clooney’s directorial debut and stars Sam Rockwell (Moon), Drew Barrymore (50 First Dates), Julia Roberts (Pretty Woman) and George Clooney (The Descendants) among others.
Here’s the synopsis according to IMDb:
“Television made him famous, but his biggest hits happened off-screen. This is the story of a legendary showman's double life - television producer by day, C.I.A. assassin by night. At the height of his television career, Chuck Barris (Sam Rockwell) was recruited by the C.I.A. and trained to become a covert operative. Or so Barris claimed.”
I know this is getting boring but, I really enjoyed this movie.
At the beginning I wasn’t sure what to expect due to its style and the way that it starts at one point in the story but then goes back to show what led up to those events. It soon picks up though and Sam Rockwell (who can pretty much do no wrong at the moment) is once again so good that I found myself fully immersed before I knew it.
It’s such a crazy story that I really wanted to believe it was true. I’ve since read though that Barris admitted to making it up in a 1984 interview - however, since he claimed to be a CIA hitman, you couldn’t exactly blame him for saying that...
True or not, it’s a really good watch!
Look out for cameos from the other Ocean’s 11 actors Brad Pitt and Matt Damon - also the late Rutger Hauer putting in a great performance. 👌
What other films do you guys recommend? 🤔