I Confess (1953)

Brilliant and touching

Best movie ever!

Great movie! If you want to be entertained and have a few good laughs, see this movie. The music is also very good,

One of the film's great tricks is that, for a time, you think it will go down a rabbit hole of unrealistic glorification.

Suspenseful and tense, but from the angle of devotion and duty rather than the usual Hitchcock style. Very well made and Clift pulls off the pained look masterfully. I doubt many people today could relate to the plot, but it worked for its time.

This is a really good movie. i'm surprised more people don't talk about it when they talk about hitchcock, it is kind of a forgotten hitchcock movie in a way. check it out if you're a fan of his other work because this one is really great.

First, I feel the need to verbalize that the flashback sequence in this film that illustrates Anne Baxter's testimony is incredibly haunting and one of the most memorable little bits of cinema, in my biased eyes. At first sight, I was in love.In fact, much of the film has the same understated and tragic tone. It is not an outwardly suspenseful film, as many have noted. It relies on expressive lighting (that seems to borrow from European films of the time), solid performances by Baxter and Malden, and a romantic, emotional core. Clift as the center of the film can be a bit underwhelming at times, but his work is believable and never distracting.Just because this film deviates from what is stereo-typically Hitchcock does not mean it should continue to be overlooked. It was a bit of a flop at the time of its release, and had plenty of strife connected to both the director and lead, but to me, that hardly shows. Its an unusual, visceral gem of a film that deserves a second look.

Although I watched a lot of films by Alfred Hitchcock I was unfamiliar with this hidden gem. Between his first golden period in Hollywood (Shadow Of A Doubt, Notorious, Spellbound) and his second (from Rear Window to Birds) Hitchcock experimented with scenery, story and cinematography in films like Rope, The Trouble With Harry, Dial M For Murder and I Confess. After seeing this movie I read the reviews here on IMDb and there is a lot of criticism because the film is too slow and there is less suspense. The only reason here fore I think is in the fact that people watch the movie expecting the typical stuff of the master of suspense. And I Confess is an atypical film by Hitchcock. In the cinematography you see a lot of influence by the expressionists directors and the struggle of Father Logan reminded me of films by Robert Bresson. It is no wonder that I Confess was admired by the directors of the Nouvelle Vague and was more appreciated in Europe than it was in the States. Hitchcock himself didn't like the final result very much. A fact that can be explained because his main aim was to entertain the public. And although he was a great inventor in cinema this film wasn't an easy one to watch as Strangers on the Train for example.The movie starts with shots of public signs mentioning "Direction" and the camera goes through an open window revealing a dead body. You see a person wearing a priest robe leaving the house. Next Father Michael Logan sees the handyman of his church, Otto Keller, who wants to confess. Within the first five minutes of the film you know that it was Keller who murdered lawyer Villette to steal his money and make life for him and his beloved wife Alma easier. Soon the suspicion of the police falls on Father Michael. There are witnesses who saw a man wearing a priest robe leaving the house of Villette and Michael had an appointment with the lawyer he is not willing to explain. Also he has no alibi for the moment of the murder.It turns out that on the evening of the murder he was with his former girlfriend with whom he should have married after the war. In flashbacks we see that Ruth Grandfort was unable to wait for Michael and married politician Pierre instead. The former lovers were caught by Villette near his summerhouse and after that they are blackmailed by the lawyer. In a brilliant twist of fate Ruth tries to give Michael an alibi to the police but instead gives them a motive for the murder.While there are some common themes by Hitchcock in the movie (the wrong man accused, the final shooting) there are also differences from his other films. There is a lot of talking and therefore the pace of the film is slow. The scene of the testimony by Ruth to the police takes up a lot of time but the acting in this scene is very good. Montgomery Clift is a totally different actor than the normal heroes in the films by Hitchcock (Carry Grant, James Stewart). It is mentioned that Hitchcock himself had difficulties with the way Clift portrayed Michael Logan but I found his acting very intense and subtle. Clift made it very believable that Logan was a man who fled to the church after he experienced the horrors of war only to find his beloved Ruth already married. You see a man fighting his inner demons and struggling to keep his oath to the Lord and not tell the confession Keller made to him to the police. Even if it means that he will take the conviction for the murder. There is not only a great role by Clift but all the supporting actors are great. Anne Baxter is convincing as the woman who knows she made a wrong decision as she didn't wait for the great love of her life. I was also impressed by Otto Hasse who plays Keller as a very creepy and schizophrenic murderer who constantly affects the guilt feelings of Michael Logan.So I Confess is a movie that would be a classic if it was directed by anyone but Hitchcock. As it was made by Hitchcock the expectations by the public are such that the film cannot respond. But if you merit the movie on its own you enjoy a real masterpiece.