The Confirmation (2016)

Terrible acting, screenplay and direction.

SERIOUSLY. This is what the crap Hollywood still puts out?

Most undeservingly overhyped movie of all time??

A Disappointing Continuation

Having read all of the above reviews, I won't waste space by summarizing the story line again. Four points: one, the title is murky; the Anthony's (the son) confirmation is an event that happens after the movie ends; granted, the young son's weekend with his father is a rite of passage, but I don't think the title ties it in; two, I like the fact that the movie has one singular objective, which is to find the Walt's toolbox; in a way, the father's future hangs on it; three, I thought the casting and performances were fine, sincere, workmanlike; the best performance of Clive Owen I've seen is "Words and Pictures"; (check it out); four, the ending was unsatisfying and unrealistic, as another reviewer pointed out; SPOILER ALERT: Walt, Anthony, and Allen return to the pawn shop; Allen steals the toolbox, runs out; all three jump in the car and drive away;cut to the end of the movie, where father and son have a bonding moment and "life will be good." How can it be "good" when, assuming the pawnshop owner is not an idiot, that he wrote down the license plate and contacted the police; Walt used his ex-wife's car which will be traced back to him. The pawnshop owner can identify Walt from their first ruinous encounter. Not being a student of law and not wanting to take the time to elaborate on the crimes committed, I will only say the consequences for Walt, Anthony, and Bonnie (Walt's ex) will damage their relationships. How could writer/director Bob Nelson ignore this outcome? Up to this point, the picture was grounded in the grittiness of the harsh world; Nelson, not dealing with this plot point, spoiled the picture for me.

It's no accident that about a third of the way through the movie, Clive Owen and Jaeden Lieberher, as father and son in The Confirmation are watching an old episode of The Rifleman - the quintessential TV western that was more about a father relating to his son in difficult and dire situations than it was about his gun.Clive Owen plays a divorced, alcoholic father who sees his son Jaeden Lieberher on weekends. One particular weekend, the father has his woodworking tools stolen. These are specialized carpentry tools that are irreplaceable. The son accompanies his dad on a series of misadventures in an attempt to recover the lost tools, which he must have for an upcoming job that he desperately needs.While a comparison can be made to the classic The Bicycle Thief, this movie stands on its own merits as an endearing case study of a boy's love for his father, willing to do whatever it takes to keep him on the straight and narrow path, and enabling both parent and child to rise to the occasion and succeed.This is a wonderful role for Owen and it is beautifully played. While Lieberher's character may seem a bit more precocious than would be expected of such a young boy, it does not come off as unbelievable.This is a movie the whole family can enjoy, all the more so because of its timeless themes of suffering and redemption, and not portraying fathers as the likely losers you so often see in Hollywood these days.

This wondrous comedy-drama features the directorial debut (at the age of 59!) of Bob Nelson, Oscar-nominated writer of "Nebraska'" and actually tops the earlier movie. The story of an alcoholic, down-on-his-luck carpenter who spends a chaotic but exciting weekend with his eight-year-old son is sometimes hilarious, sometimes moving, sometimes exciting, and always sublime.Acting by Clive Owen as the father constitutes his screen peak to date, and Jaeden Lieberher as the boy is absolutely astounding, one of the best child performances within memory. Supporting performances are all terrific, with special mention due to Patton Oswalt as a likable meth addict.

We watched this on DVD, a Redbox rental suggested by neighbors. The title refers to the Catholic process of teenage Confirmation after First Communion at 7 or 8.This is from the same writer-director that gave us 'Nebraska' (2013) where an old codger played by Bruce Dern was determined to get to Omaha to claim his prize advertised in a junk mail brochure. It too examined a father-son relationship.In the DVD extra he also mentions inspiration from the 1948 film "Bicycle Thieves", an Italian movie about a father-son team looking for his stolen bicycle. "The Confirmation" uses a stolen tool box, passed down from the grandfather, full of a finishing carpenter's tools of the trade. Clive Owen is the father, Walt and young Jaeden Lieberher is really effective as the young son, Anthony. Walt's former wife, Maria Bello as Bonnie, is going off to a Marriage Encounter weekend with her husband and Walt will take care of his son.Not much goes as planned, the pickup truck breaks down, he gets a finishing job that will allow him to ward off eviction but finds his tools are stolen. He borrows his ex-wife's car then finds it has no brakes, so he has to fix that. He asks around to see if any gossip in the small town will lead him to his stolen tools.My wife and I enjoyed the 100 minutes viewing but in truth it isn't that great a movie, not up to the caliber of "Nebraska". Walt isn't much of a role model, trying hard to get off the bottle, never telling the truth unless he is cornered. Some of his bad habits rub off on Anthony.For me the funniest part was when Anthony, a good boy, was in the confessional and telling the priest he didn't have any sins to confess. Probing several different avenues the priest asked if he had any naughty sexual thoughts, Anthony pondered for a couple of seconds then asked the priest to describe what that would look like. Later, after all the adventures when Anthony went back to confession he had a long list of "sins" to tell the priest, thanks to the adventures with his dad.