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 Depending
on how you look at it, 1997's highly panned Batman & Robin
was either the worst thing or the best thing to happen to George
Clooney. On one hand, he insisted on blaming himself for the movie's
failure (even though it wasn't his fault), but after that, he
never looked back and did some of his best big screen work ever
(Out of Sight, Three Kings, O Brother,
Where Art Thou and the recent Solaris).
Now Clooney steps behind the camera for the first time to direct
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind. Based on the autobiography
of Gong Show host Chuck Barris, Clooney proves that he
is a quick study by incorporating the techniques of almost every
filmmaker he's ever worked with. While the results are often stylish,
interesting and humorous, the film unfortunately lacks focus and
fails to resonate on an emotional level.
Chuck Barris (Sam Rockwell) was smart enough to recognize a good
opportunity when he saw one. After making a name for himself as
a cornball songwriter in the 60's, he parlayed his success into
creating a string of lowbrow game shows like The Dating Game
and The Newlywed Game. According to him, he balanced his
time as a TV producer with being a covert CIA operative who killed
more than 30 people over the next decade. By the time he got around
to hosting The Gong Show in the '70's, the strain of his
dual life caught up with him, leading him to put the gong on his
secret identity once and for all.
Like most first-time filmmakers, Clooney can't help but indulge
in his inspirations, especially with regards to some of his past
directors. He draws upon the rich cinematography of David O. Russell's
Three Kings, the oddball sophistication of the Coen brothers'
O Brother, Where Art Thou, and the non-linear storytelling
of Steven Soderbergh's Out of Sight. Beyond that, he intercuts
his story with real-life interviews like Warren Beatty did in
Reds, and he uses deep focus and shadows like Orson Welles
did in...well, just about everything.
Yet for all its audacity, for all its ambitions and for all its
allegations, the film comes up surprisingly short. As is often
the case with celebrity biopics, there's too much to do in too
little time, and we never really make enough of an emotional connection
to care about what happens to Barris. The fact that his dual life
was never confirmed (or denied) should be cause for even more
psychological power, but the direction never matches the far out
premise as adapted by Charlie Kaufman (who did wonders with the
bizarre, multi-layered brilliance of Being John Malkovich
and Adaptation).
That doesn't stop Sam Rockwell from putting in a star-making
performance. Perhaps best known as the villain from Charlie's
Angels, Rockwell lets it all hang out--quite literally
at times--as the tortured genius who had a knack for appealing
to the lowest common denominator. Despite his character's shortcomings,
Rockwell utilizes Confessions as a one-man show to effectively
display the full range of his talent.
Clooney fills his supporting roles with some of his famous pals,
including Drew Barrymore, who makes the most of her underdeveloped
role as Rockwell's free-spirited, way-too-understanding girlfriend.
Much less effective is Julia Roberts, who all but walks through
her brief, but pivotal role as the film's femme fatale, but at
least Clooney seems to be enjoying himself as the shady, mysterious,
straight-laced CIA informant who recruits Rockwell into the big
leagues.
Confessions of a Dangerous Mind is frustratingly uneven
and goes on a little too long, but it still holds plenty of interest
and isn't worthy of a gong. Clooney's directorial debut has a
lot of admirable qualities and ends up being more enjoyable than
not, which ultimately makes it neither the best thing nor the
worst thing that he's ever done.
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