True Confessions

After the end of World War II, Americans turn their attention to other stories. Capturing the country's attention is the 1948 murder of a young woman known as "The Virgin Tramp". Her body is found in Los Angeles, neatly cut in half. There is some disagreement about whether the body requires one or two stretchers on its way to the morgue. My vote is one, but forensics folks like to keep the body as it was discovered. Arriving at the murder scene is police detective Robert Duvall (as Thomas "Tom" Spellacy). His brother is Catholic priest Robert De Niro (as Desmond "Des" Spellacy). There will be a connection...

You would expect a crime story involving a policeman and priest played by Mr. Duvall and Mr. De Niro to be better than this. There is also a great supporting cast, led by Duvall partner Kenneth McMillan (as Frank Crotty) and De Niro associate Charles Durning (as Jack Amsterdam). And, it's obviously well-produced. The story should have stuck with Duvall and the murder mystery. De Niro's character might have been more minor - the film is, simply, too sluggish. Also, there was no need for the bracketing opening and closing scenes set in the present. Surely, the brothers had more to reminisce about than this incident.

***** True Confessions (9/24/81) Ulu Grosbard ~ Robert Duvall, Robert De Niro, Charles Durning, Kenneth McMillan

In post-war L.A., Desmond Spellacy (Robert De Niro) is the well-connected monsignor in the Los Angeles archdiocese. His older brother is LAPD Detective Tom Spellacy (Robert Duvall). They are both entrenched in the corrupt city. Tom was a bagman and Desmond is always horse trading among the sinful elites. The body of a young woman cut in two pieces is found on a hillside.

This is inspired by the 1947 Black Dahlia murder. The acting is impeccable. The cast is rock solid. The movie spends a lot of time painting a picture of the setting and the brothers. As a mystery, it is a straight short road without any interesting twists and turns. I can't really even call it a mystery. It is actually a relationship movie. The dead body is more or less a distraction. With a big time Black Dahlia story, one expects a better crime mystery investigation. The actors and their performances are beyond reproach.

Adapted by the talented husband and wife team of Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne from the latter's novel, "True Confessions" is not a film likely to please everyone. It is a character study dressed as a detective film, following two brothers, one a priest the other a detective. Both characters are flawed and corrupt in one way or another, but over the course of a murder investigation both men find their means of salvation.

Focusing on atmosphere and characterisation rather than suspense, "True Confessions" marked another triumph for director Ulu Grosbard, director of the two criminally underrated classics "Who is Harry Kellerman?" and "Straight Time". The performances in the film are excellent, with Duvall and De Niro simply superb as the two protagonists, particularly the latter in an effectively subdued role. Loosely based on the infamous Black Dahlia case, the film will madden those expecting the film to follow the structure and pacing of a conventional genre film. Yet for those who want something more intelligent and thoughtful, "True Confessions" is a rewarding experience.

I read John Gregory Dunne's novel quite some time ago, and while the details of the tale - other than it's obvious use of the Black Dahlia murder as a fictionalised sub-plot - were no longer clear in my mind when I watched this film, the memory of being deeply impressed by the book were still very clear.

You would think a film version written by the novel's author and starring two modern giants of the screen would have success guaranteed, but Ulu Grosbad's adaptation of True Confessions is only partially successful. As you'd expect, the acting is first rate, especially from De Niro, cast against type as a measured, introspective priest, and the recreation of 40s America stands comparison with the likes of L. A. Confidential but, whereas the medium of literature enabled Dunne to bring a good measure of intrigue to the complexities of religious politics and finance, on the screen he struggles to hold the viewer's interest, while the Black Dahlia sub-plot is almost dismissively brushed aside.

Despite this, the plot reaches the screen with its intelligence and cynicism intact, relying on human interaction to drive the plot forward. Essentially a dissection of the relationship of two brothers, one a cop (Duvall) the other a sort of 'glamour priest' who weds wealthy couples and is earmarked for good things, the script steadfastly picks apart the threads of the brothers' lives to reveal the sensitivity and honour of the hard-bitten cop and the self-serving ability of the priest that enables him to turn a blind eye to all that he knows is rotten.

This is a film for adults. If you like gunplay or violence look elsewhere. But if you want to see a film that asks you to do a little work to understand the motivation and compulsions of its characters then this one will probably be worth a couple of hours of your time.

True Confessions is a film wherein all of the players are at the top of their game. Altho starring Robert Duval and Robert DeNiro, the depth of field among the character actors is extraordinary, and this is why a movie that's seems to have so little going on is really so overwhelmingly powerful. Both Duval and DeNiro seem to communicate without speaking; almost as tho their thoughts are being sub-titled on the screen. Whenever they do begin talking with each other, the weight of their shared past has the force of a sledge hammer. I have a vhs copy of True Confessions, have watched it plenty of times and still find fresh nuances whenever I look at it. You have to see this movie.