Review: “I Confess” (1953)

Hitchcock possessed a keen, daring imagination. His ability to find new ways to put his protagonists in dangerous situations is truly marvelous. In “I Confess,” Montgomery Clift is the poor soul in question, playing a priest named Father Michael Logan. Father Logan takes the confession of Otto Keller late one night. Otto works in the church rectory, and knows full well that priests must keep confessions in confidence. Keller confesses that he murdered a local lawyer. Logan is obviously conflicted over what he should do, but he honors the confidentiality that he owes Keller. The problem for the good Father is this: he may have enough apparent motive to be a viable suspect himself.

Clift is great here, and he carries most of the film. He is helped by the beautiful backdrop of Quebec, which is a feast for the eyes, even in black and white. The various plot elements, typically melodramatic, unfold very evenly. This, at least to my judgment, is a woefully under appreciated film. If you can find it, watch it! I promise, if you allow yourself to be drawn in, you’ll enjoy it!

Oscar Nominees 2010: Black Swan

The world that working artists inhabit exists a little outside of what the rest of the world considers to be reality. Each
area has a very distinct subculture that overlaps with others. For example, I was a part time chorister in a major opera house for 9 seasons. The world of singers was its own small universe, but we interacted with actors, orchestra players, conductors, and ballet dancers. There is a feeling in each sphere that can make the
inhabitant believe that their little universe is the only one that exists. It becomes all too easy to lose touch with reality in a very dangerous way. “Black Swan” is about exactly that.

Nina (Natalie Portman) is an ensemble dancer with a New York City ballet
company who longs for her chance to be prima ballerina. Her life revolves around dancing. She lives with her mother, Erica (Barbara Hershey), who dictates Nina’s every move but knows just how to keep her daughter under her thumb. Nina has no social life, and even seems to be an outsider in the clique of dancers at the ballet,
despite her own veteran status. She’s awkward, and as a result others see her dancing as technically astounding but lacking emotion. The company announces a new production of Tchaikovsky’s well-known “Swan Lake,” for which they are looking to cast one dancer as both the white swan and her black counterpart. Nina is a perfect fit for the white swan, but the artistic director doesn’t see her as passionate enough for the evil black swan. The seemingly balanced Nina gradually finds herself hallucinating, often seeing a version of herself clad all in black. Her real-life opposite is a
rival dancer named Lily (Mila Kunis), a Bohemian sort who knows no boundaries in life.

The realism of the life of a performer captured in this film reflects some very authentic emotional and psychological trappings. It’s very easy to feel like everyone is out to get you when you hold a coveted position of power. Sometimes it’s true; most of the time, it’s pure paranoia. Nina’s growing
obsession with success is chilling, and her bending reality makes for some interesting imagery. Winona Ryder makes a great supporting turn as the ousted former prima dancer. The camera work is intimate almost to a fault. Tchaikovsky’s score has never seemed more haunting to me. It seems to be a perfect backdrop for the
psychodrama that unfolds over these two hours. Natalie Portman is incredibly compelling, and in my mind deserves the Oscar. This is a masterful psychological study dressed up as beautiful art. The art direction is superb, and the dance scenes are both intimate and grand. Some scenes are intense, so if that’s not your thing, skip
this. But if you dig post-Hitchcockian psychological deconstruction with an artistic twist, please see this movie. It’s heartbreaking in a way that I find difficult to articulate. To date, the best
film I saw of the 2010 set, even if I saw it in 2011.