neumu [ cinematronic ]




	Confidence
	James Foley Ed Burns, Rachel Weisz, Andy Garcia, Dustin Hoffman, Paul Giamatti, Donal Logue, Luis Guzman, Brian Van Holt, Franky G, Morris Chestnut 2003		As an addition to the exalted heist-movie genre, "Confidence" is a game well worth playing. Like "The Sting," it's a tightly plotted, roguishly comic ride through the shady territory of con artists as they work their wiles. "Confidence" comes by its verve honestly, with a script as slippery and loquacious as its cunning characters, a company of actors who take to their roles with undisguised glee, and cagey director James Foley to put them through their paces. The film eavesdrops on the schemes of ace grifter Jake and his crew, as they try to pay off a massive debt to the King, a loose-cannon L.A. crime boss, after inadvertently fleecing him during an earlier scam. Jake (Ed Burns), a slick guy with resourceful comrades (Paul Giamatti, Brian Van Holt), knows the risk of messing with the King (Dustin Hoffman, full of wit and menace). So, adding a gorgeous pickpocket (Rachel Wiesz) to his team, Jake plans a multi-million-dollar swindle to settle the score. But an FBI agent (Andy Garcia) with a grudge and two cops (Donal Logue, Luis Guzman) on the take may undo the whole deal. "Confidence" is as much fun and games as an audience should legally be allowed to experience.