Tuesday, October 30, 2007

I Confess

This time of year, Hitchcock films seem to be everywhere, but one of the most overlooked is I Confess. Made in 1953, it is a prime example of Hitchcock, the Catholic. Hitchcock attended Mass daily, and lived the devote life. Many of his films show this in subtle ways, I, Confess is not subtle.

What happens when a man confesses murder to a priest in the confessional? What happens when the man, full aware of the fact that a priest is bound to silence, decides to frame him? This is the simple story told in I, Confess. Simple, but all of the situations that surround the murder, the murderer and the priest are what make it so good. I often wonder if Hitchcock was reading Father Brown stories while making this film, there are a few subtle resemblances.

Shot in Montreal, I Confess is stunningly beautiful. The acting is not the best in a Hitchcock film, but the roles are convincing enough. I've read this is not a good Hitchcock film, especially for non-Catholics, But I have to disagree. It is a great film, but Catholics will appreciate its treatment of confession. This is a great movie for teens, there are a few mature situations, but due to it being 1953, they are alluded to rather than explicit. I love this movie on cold fall nights with a nice hot cup of cider.

2 comments:

love2learnmom said...

That's one of our favorites too. My teenage daughter absolutely loves it and has been bugging me about watching it again. :)

EC Gefroh said...

We love it too! We watch all the Hitchcock classics over and over again. But this one is truly one of our favorites.