The Confession (2011) User Reviews (18)

Who's Jack Bauer?

[adamdaly1985 · 9/10 · 3 April 2011]

After the culmination of '24', eyes across the globe were eagerly following Keifer 'Bauer' Sutherland and anticipating his next move. Little did we know it would be starring alongside film legend John Hurt in a gritty web series. Keifer plays The Confessor; a hit-man attempting to understand the root of evil through means of confession. Unrepentant, he debates theology and the source of evil with a priest (Hurt) who is forced to unravel the truth behind his confessor.

Before diving head-first into the show itself, I want to talk about the show's format. Split into short (6 min approx) chapters, this is not your typical TV series. However, the chapters seamlessly flow and the overall experience is fairly reminiscent of reading a short story or novella.

The length (or lack of) of the chapters would perhaps leave many viewers feeling a little short changed. After all - we were so used to having Bauer grace our screen for 24 continuous hours defusing bombs and torturing terrorists. But from the first second of The Confession, the tension immediately hits you whilst the shows dramatic undertones create an uneasy atmosphere. Regular flashbacks to the confessor's dark past fill any voids left by the inhibiting confession booth. These also provide well acted and well written sub-plots; further unravelling the mysteries of this troubled man.

I quite enjoyed the three episodes so far and a pedestal has definitely been set. The acting by keifer, Hurt and all ancillary characters is excellent and both the directing and writing is of notable quality (if slightly clichéd at times). That said, there is definite scope for a larger series. I fear that the potential in the current format will never quite reach the same heights as it would in a 40 minute format. But maybe i'm getting ahead of myself. It is only episode three after all. Overall, this is a great vehicle for Keifer and fans of 24 will find watching The Confession incredibly enjoyable. With it's grit, tense drama and an original concept, you'll almost forget about Bauer. Almost.

Spellbinding!

[TweetyonIMDB · 9/10 · 9 February 2015]

Why was this film overlooked? I had thought everyone in Hollywood was asleep until I learnt that the film had originally been released as a webisode series and then went straight to DVD. What a shame!

This is one of the most powerful films I've watched in decades. It provokes, it challenges, it stirs the emotions -- and 95% of the film is held together with dialogue by two men sitting in a confessional. I watched it twice in one day. The script - the acting - the way the plot is developed - they are flawless, in my opinion, and worthy of any award.

Kiefer Sutherland is perfectly cast as the assassin - reaching out for answers. And it's hard not to empathise with him, once you learn of his background and his obvious pain. John Hurt is brilliantly cast as the embattled priest. He has that weather-beaten face that tells a thousand stories.

Another thing that puzzles me is why the two lead stars of this movie are not given top billing credit - which went to 3 bit- part roles? Something's crook in Tobruk, as they say in my country!!

Much credit to all the actors - this is a film I cannot fault, and writer-director Brad Mirman is one name I'll be following with interest in future.

Being and nothingness

[dbdumonteil · 9/10 · 18 June 2014]

There is something I cannot understand;it is really beyond me;how can a movie so highly rated,a rating it thoroughly deserves , be totally overlooked by the users,as far as comments are concerned ?after watching it,I was expecting at least one hundred of them!Much to my surprise,I'm the first one to write about it.

This very short work (70 min ,but no filling!),bitter and utterly uncompromising ,will perhaps be more appreciated if you were brought up a catholic ,but every viewer looking for "something different" will be rewarded.

The action takes place in a confessional ,where a man who's just killed someone -and is about to repeat this crime this very night- wants a priest to give him absolution.

There are many flashbacks ,and little by little ,we understand the sinner can show compassion ,pity ,and that it is not a black and white world,but surely a gray one.We guess the unexpected final twist halfway through the movie,but the interest does not suffer for it .

The movie deals with religious concepts such as free will ,the relativity of what's good and what's evil and the existence of God himself is called into question;it could also be seen as a metaphoric meeting with the Devil ,but it's up to you to decide,all in all, who the real satanic being is.

There're only two actors (the others are supporting for a very short time)but they are merely prodigious :Kiefer Sutherland portrays an ambiguous character,a killer who sometimes resembles a black Robin Hood (the extraordinary and totally unexpected scene of the computer),and who,from the start,got a raw deal ;Matching him every step of the way is aging John Hurt's tormented priest who believed he could redeem himself and escape from a horrible past .

Even with violence kept to the minimum ,this is a pessimistic terrifying movie,which leaves no hope to the viewer .It might shock true believers ,the words do not cut ,they bite;but they inspire the vital extremism of the confrontation.

70 min of your time;it's not much and you won't forget "the confession"

The entire series

[tf883 · 10/10 · 26 April 2011]

I will not give away spoilers. I just watched Chapter 8 and it was gut-wrenching! John Hurt's performance in this chapter just shows why he truly is one of the great actors of the last 40 years. When Hurt (as the Priest) confesses his sins from a past life, you truly feel his pain. Your stomach will twist into knots and you will want to cry with him. If this was a movie instead of a web-series, he would easily win an Academy Award. Sutherland's performance is top notch. The character is a level or two deeper than Jack Bauer, and although he is an assassin, we feel his pain and we want him to win his fight.

This web-series is the best show that is currently on the Planet earth right now, whether it's TV, movies, internet, whatever.....nuff said!

short and to the point. filled with amazing dialogue, emotion and depth.

[Jamesbgrim · 10/10 · 8 May 2011]

Just finished watching all 9 episodes of The Confession. all I can say is that it is probably better than most of the series that stay on year after year, dragging on on the same content and same dialogue, trying to stretch and prolong the very obvious plot lines; this kept you guessing and plunged you into an ocean of thrills, fears and ultimately acceptance, to how life can sometimes be seen. It truly is one of the greatest series, actually, mini series that I've ever had the good fortune to watch.I HIGHLY RECOMMEND IT- the entire series is only an hour long anyway, but every second of it is hours worth of emotion and depth, every second passed was a moment missed and a moment i wished to see again....not too much time out of the day in order to watch a masterpiece.

Spoiler! How does this work? The boy and the burn?

[assv-ttck · 7/10 · 5 September 2012]

I really enjoyed this series. I watched it all at once in the compiled version, it was seem-less, kinda.

Hurt tells Sutherland "The boy was only 8...." He just left him shortly after his wife died. the kid in the flashback is like 3-ish.

I know I'm being a little critical.

The major problem for me is the burn, Sutherland shows Hurt the burn inflicted on him as a child, but literally 45 seconds further it shows hurt's flashback character throwing his wife into an electric range top oven not the gas one "...held his hand over the flame until I burnt him inside and out." but overall it was very good.

A Hit-man and a Priest, we are missing Robert Ludlum

[engbabar · 10/10 · 12 April 2011]

Its a great thing, Hit-man and a Priest is a great combination of contemporary English literature, Robert Ludlum used this kind of theme in Bourne Series novels. Then Dan Brown also attempted something and there must be many more that I didn't get my hands on. Anyhow, this kind of series is a dream series for people of my generation, and it is very well written and well acted. Kiefer Sutherland is as perfectly cold as an assassin is supposed to be, he is amazing, it is just very cruel of the producers that they are making it so short, if they make it to proper length this series can beat the hell out of all the great shows, in fact after Dexter this is the first time that I really want to see something and wish it not to end.

Hats off to Kiefer Sutherland.

Great episodes but would like them longer in length

[maggy1964 · 10/10 · 6 April 2011]

I wish each episode was a little longer in length. It just start getting good and it says to be continued. It is very suspenseful and thought provoking. I think you may need to have a strong stomach at times during certain scenes but love the realism of the filming. I like that you can watch anytime and if you miss a day that you can watch back episodes. Since we don't have "Jack Bauer" and 24 anymore, I'm glad Keifer has embarked on another project. Good way to get a following and a test audience via the internet. I could see this as a TV show eventually. Even a movie would be an option once there is a large enough interest. Great job, looking forward to more episodes.

The Confession is very intriguing

[danichick007 · 10/10 · 6 April 2011]

I love the seasons of "24" so I wanted to see Keifer Sutherland in another role. His character is similar to that of his "Jack Bauer" character but different enough to still be interesting. I like the unfolding "self realizations." Good plot, some surprises I didn't see coming which adds excitement. I'm looking forward to the upcoming episodes but with each one were at least a little longer. Keifer Sutherland is perfect for this role and the confession aspect of the series is new and different to me. The church and confessional bring a quiet depth to this series. I love the flashbacks and hope their frequency increases as the chapters unfold.If I had to sum up The Confession in a couple of words I would say it is intriguing with mysterious depth.

The Confession (2011) vs The Confession (2011)

[Seth_Rogue_One · 5/10 · 31 May 2016]

If you search for 'The Confession (2011)' on here you will find that there is actually two hits for that, and both with the same poster and actors, director etc.

The difference is one is listed as a TV-series and one as a movie.

So what differs the 2? Well, not that much in fact nothing from what I've gathered you see 'The Confession (2011)' was originally a 10 part web-series with each episode being 6 minutes long and this movie is merely all 10 parts put together.

Now the good news is that the flow between the parts is pretty effortless, in fact I was a bit surprised when it turned out to be the case (regarding the movie being a 10 part series).

So yeah it works fine as a 1 hour long movie.

The only reason I gave it a 5 (I was debating whether or not it was worth a 6 or not) is because there were moments where I lost interest a little bit and the (meant to be) powerful ending wasn't all that gripping to me.

That said the acting is fine (although tbh at times it felt like Kiefer Sutherland was playing Jack Bauer and not a completely different character), it's mainly a character-study drama of a hit-man but it has some moments of suspense as well, some flashbacks and stuff.

So nothing amazing but if you're a huge fan of Kiefer Sutherland and John Hurt I'd say it could be worth a look.

An important film to watch

[shemolam · 8/10 · 28 August 2014]

After a rather boring start in a peculiar setting (church) - a rather awaited outcome comes to fruit.

what captivated me in this well narrated film - not only Keifer Sutherland - one of the best i know - but the build up, until the near final scene of his own childhood.

the absolute terror in the eyes of the wife, the cold apathetic eyes of the bully, the whole short scene - is so vital in to be seen seen again - and understood from all corners - young and old, maybe it will move people who have "disturbances" and get carried away sometimes and do violent things to their family and surroundings.

someday - it will get to you too...

It's nice to know that Kiefer Sutherland hasn't changed much

[mauriceh01 · 10/10 · 6 May 2011]

And that was meant as a compliment. Assertive, the fact that nothing, no one will ever change his mind about anything... and when you get on his bad side; you're as good as dead -- quite literally LOL ********** SOME COMMENTS BELOW MAY BE SPOILERS SO CAUTION READING FURTHER IF YOU HAVE NOT YES SEEN 'THE CONFESSION' YET. ************* I have to admit that I was shocked that each episode would last only 5-8 or so minutes each. They should have at least left out the "Previously... on...." for more dialogue, but I guess there was a method to their madness when they put the series together.

Each Chapter I watched, as short as they were, really gave me the chills, with both Kiefer and the priest's performance. It was highly believable, yet disturbing on many levels re the conversations that took place, and especially at the end of Chapter 8 when Father revealed his darkest sins and we found out that The Confessor is the son of the Priest after describing how he burned his hand as a kid.

The flashback scene with the mother jumping off the balcony after the Priest said to her that she better jump otherwise once he gets his hands on her, she was good as dead. That was disturbing to say the least, with the little Confessor standing and watching as she fell out of the balcony. Kids never forget stuff like that.

And as Kiefer's character shows time and time again (even in his "24" days) that when he wants to kill or attempts to kill, he will follow through regardless of the consequences so long as he gets his revenge.

But, good for the priest (in a way), The Confessor decided that he had compassion and that he had changed for the better since the childhood days, but by not killing him was a greater punishment than killing him considering that in the future after each killing the Confessor performs, he will let Father know about it, over and over again, and make him feel so guilty with emotional pain and suffering till the day he dies. That's worse than a quick and painless death.

And then The Confessor says to father that he must swear to secrecy -- effectively banning him from ever mentioning to anyone, including the police about what kind of person the Confessor has become. He really did have all his bases covered.

We'll see if they make another season. The first one went way too fast!!

Excels in almost all ways

[Delamont91 · 10/10 · 28 November 2011]

'The Confession' is a web mini-series, and very mini it is indeed. Whereas the episodes of most conventional series, be they on TV or launched in the Blue Nowhere, last 45 to 60 minutes, in 'The Confession' we come to see 'Chapters' that are no longer than 10 minutes max. I think that this is one of the main strengths of the series; every second of it completely grips your attention and makes you long for more.

The storyline and dialogue are equally great. Some of the confession's content proves to be very insightful and thought-provoking, especially when it comes to guilt, forgiveness and choice or free will. Only the major plot twist, revealed in Chapter 8, was too clichéd to me. Certainly one of the script writers could've chosen a more credible ruined relationship between the Confessor and the Priest.

The acting is simply superb. Though Sutherland gives a solid performance as a ruthless but suffering assassin who seeks understanding with a priest, the really extraordinary portrayal of this priest comes from John Hurt. His exquisite talent for drama and the transfer of human emotions just explodes from your screen. A rare and unique actor.

Reoccurring flashbacks keep the chapters tight. The shift from the confession booth to witnessing a murder just finds the right balance between action and the ever so important dialogue. I should remark though, that the action scenes with Sutherland do not create any extra tension (except for the one with the little black boy), for all of the series is drown in tension. The dialogic scenes in the church contain as much of it as, or maybe even more than the flashbacks.

One of only few minor flaws I found was the unoriginal soundtrack. Some choral elements in the in-church sequences are great, but the suspense near the end of each chapter fails to build up so that it be remembered. In fact, the same and clichéd technique of a short crescendo is used over and over again, which left me with little impression regarding the series' accompanying music.

I can not yet imagine how this story should evolve for a second and third season, but I do hope cordially that the writers keep their brilliance in addressing the heavy themes that surround redemption and revenge. If they succeed, 'The Confession' could easily become the best drama series we have ever seen. And I do mean ever.

This web series is great ......I love every second of it...

[mkopoku · 10/10 · 7 April 2011]

This web series is a great show......I love every second of it... I really enjoyed all the conversations between the confessor and the priest. It is really profound and in-depth dialogue, I wish more people would watch this web series. I would want to see it on TV as well but I guess there is not enough time. I can only hope this web series expands into a 30 minute or 1 hour episodes in future so that it can be shown on TV as well. I am positive it can be done if all the flashbacks are expended to form complete stories on their own with more action,drama, and dirty works about their (the confessor and the priest) past, present and future. Once again, it is a great series and I want to see more minutes of it.

Great drama in a series of small packages

[steveb7088 · 10/10 · 11 April 2011]

May contain spoilers although I tried not to give anything away.

A series of six minute episodes (six at the time of this writing) centering around a hit-man (Keifer Sutherland) and a priest (John Hurt) in a confessional.

The hit-man had a profound experience that has him thinking about human nature, good and evil, right and wrong and freedom of choice. The priest, much to his dismay at first, is drawn into the discussion. Both men make valid arguments regarding their visions and experiences.

The dialog is superb and there are moments of incredible suspense as the hit-man recounts his past.

As always, Keifer Sutherland and John Hurt are both superb. You will not be disappointed.

I'm looking forward to the rest of the episodes.

forgive me, Father, for I did not like the movie

[myriamlenys · 5/10 · 5 November 2017]

I didn't like the movie much, especially because I didn't buy the moral and religious evolution of one of the protagonists. (Excuse me for being vague, but I'm trying to avoid at least the most blatant of spoilers.) One of the protagonists starts out an egregiously violent, cruel, rage-filled man, and then works his way to the light, sustained by a belief in God and God's forgiveness.

Such radical transformations happen : for instance, there are hagiographies telling of pimps, robber barons or assassins turning into truly good men and dying as saints. However, such radical transformations tend to be very, very rare (which is the reason why they fire the imagination and turn into hagiographies). Moreover, one would hope that the people who do go through a genuine conversion a) would know and recognize the full horror of their misdeeds and b) would try to make amends, especially to the innocents they hurt the most. In this movie, however, there is very little to indicate that the man who bettered his life tried to repair the awful wreckage he left behind - which is a problem, since the movie insists that he does indeed have a full grasp of his obligations before God and man. He has become good, he has achieved wisdom and he realizes he has to help a certain someone, but he doesn't do so, because... ? Because ?

If there is a "because" I certainly didn't get it.

So this isn't a very good film, although it contains a sprinkling of valid observations, here and there, on sin, human fallibility and redemption. Sutherland and Hurt give insightful and compelling performances, but even they can't iron out the flaws in the story.

For people interested in Roman-Catholic teachings or in the Roman- Catholic sacrament of confession : leave the movie be and go talk with a Roman-Catholic neighbor or colleague. Or look up a Roman-Catholic priest. Your discussion would be interactive, you might make a friend AND there is a sporting chance of getting offered a nice pint of beer.

Personal feeling about the series, fan of Kiefer, unique story, just watch it.

[Alex_NLD · 9/10 · 16 August 2011]

Huge fan of 24 and of course Sutherland's acting in it, I was curious about The Confession, however it came to me as a surprise it was an actual mini show with just a few minutes of each chapter, that was unfortunate because i'd love to have seen more. I believe it could have been "milked" a lot more.

Like some other user wrote in his review, it might have been better to make a movie out of it.

So, for all those who are intrigued, if you like to see "Jack Bauer" in a different setting, if you like puzzle pieces falling together in the end, a little mind game and action you should watch, just don't be disappointed for just under an hour of entertainment.

Upside down

[theoidos · 5/10 · 4 September 2012]

Five stars just for the good plot twist. Oh, and for Sean Callery soul, I mean: sound.

But to put both shooting fiction and religious fiction together is a problem, because for shooting actors need not to handle guns upside down to make the shooting obviously fictitious, but they need to do it with religious behavior to make it fictitious.

And even some catholics will not grasp it, because the church is real, the confession spot is real, the vestment is real, and all the secondary doctrinal stuff are real. JUST what is really central, the real core of Christianism it put upside down, if not just OUT.

So, watched the film and still need to know what? Ask ANY father, because not ONE of them would miss it is and behave like that, even if such kind of plot was real - because it not rarely IS.