6.5 | / 10 |
Users | 0.0 | |
Reviewer | 3.5 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
Anthony is somewhat uneasy about spending the weekend with his alcoholic, down-on-his-luck carpenter dad Walt while his mom Bonnie and her new husband Kyle go to a Catholic retreat together.
Starring: Clive Owen, Maria Bello, Jaeden Martell, Stephen Tobolowsky, Glenn BeckDrama | Insignificant |
Comedy | Insignificant |
Video codec: MPEG-4 AVC
Video resolution: 1080p
Aspect ratio: 1.85:1
Original aspect ratio: 1.85:1
English: DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1
English, English SDH, Spanish
Blu-ray Disc
Single disc (1 BD)
UV digital copy
Slipcover in original pressing
Region A (C untested)
Movie | 3.5 | |
Video | 4.0 | |
Audio | 4.0 | |
Extras | 1.0 | |
Overall | 3.5 |
While writer-director Bob Nelson cites Vittorio de Sica’s iconic Bicycle Thieves as a prime inspiration for The Confirmation, Nelson is also not shy about, well, confirming that this film might be seen as a kind of prequel to the film that first brought Nelson major recognition as a screenwriter (not to mention an Academy Award nomination), 2013’s Nebraska. As in that Alexander Payne directed opus, there’s a hard drinking father and a somewhat addled son, though in the case of The Confirmation, the age ranges are considerably younger. And while there are no bicycles purloined in The Confirmation, there is an attempt to retrieve some stolen items which, as in the de Sica film, allow its already troubled adult hero the ability to make a living. The Confirmation sees some fairly roiling family dysfunctions through the prism of the perspective of a sweet little boy named Anthony (Jaeden Lieberher), who is initially shown at a Catholic church with his mother Bonnie (Maria Bello). Bonnie is obviously trying to instill some religious fervor into the little boy, and Nelson frames this sequence with the kind of wide eyed wonder with which the very young tend to respond to things like religious iconography. That said, it’s obvious once Anthony (at his mother’s urging) gets into the confessional booth that he’s incredibly innocent, in both a general and an ethical sense. The put upon priest (a funny Stephen Tobolowsky) keeps urging the kid to confess his sins, except—Anthony doesn’t really have any. He’s obviously incredibly precocious, and he seems to have at least a general understanding of what he’s doing in church, but as for actual, honest to goodness (and/or badness) sinning?—well, there simply isn’t any “there” there. That’s all about to change, of course, though Nelson, helming a feature film for the first time, seems to want to deal with the “sullying” of Anthony in a gritty, dramatic fashion (despite a marketing campaign which at least suggested a comedy, or minimally a dramedy), when a perhaps more whimsical approach may have ironically offered more emotional dividends.
The Confirmation is presented on Blu-ray courtesy of Lionsgate Films with an AVC encoded 1080p transfer in 1.85:1. The IMDb lists no camera for this feature, and while I'm loathe to state anything definitively, especially in this day and age of "digital grain", this has a traditionally filmic appearance, though I can't say whether that was achieved "naturally" or by some high tech manipulation (if anyone can point me to a definitive source, I'm happy to update the review). While a lot of this offering takes place in drab and dingy (and often quite dimly lit) environments, detail levels are generally excellent and shadow detail often quite commendable (see screenshots 7 and 9). While a bit on the dingy side at times, the palette looks natural and there's very little if any overt color grading going on, something that also tends to redound to the benefit of detail levels. Contrast is just occasionally anemic at times, especially in some indoor environments (see screenshot 11), but overall things look excellent throughout this presentation, with no compression artifacts of any note and a nicely stable image.
The Confirmation's lossless DTS-HD Master Audio 5.1 track may not have a ton of opportunities to really strut its stuff, but there's consistent immersion as Walt and Anthony tool about the city, often outside in semi-urban (like, smallish town) environments, where both hubbub and natural sounds are combined to create a very lifelike atmosphere. A lot of this film plays out in very quiet dialogue scenes between father and son, though, and those obviously have little surround activity, but feature excellent fidelity. Jeff Cardoni's enjoyably rootsy score spills through the surround channels quite winningly and capably supports several key scenes.
A large supporting cast which includes reliables like Robert Forster and Maria Bello certainly help up the performance ante, but The Confirmation is for all intents and purposes a so-called "two hander", and in this case the hands are commendably attached to Clive Owens and Jaeden Lieberher, both of whom are excellent. The film has both narrative and (especially) tonal hurdles, but for fans of the cast, there's probably more than enough here to warrant checking out. Technical merits are strong, and The Confirmation comes Recommended.
(Still not reliable for this title)
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Extended Cut
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Warner Archive Collection
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