Crwthod A lot more amusing than I thought it would be.

Nayan Gough A great movie, one of the best of this year. There was a bit of confusion at one point in the plot, but nothing serious.

Erica Derrick By the time the dramatic fireworks start popping off, each one feels earned.

Juana what a terribly boring film. I'm sorry but this is absolutely not deserving of best picture and will be forgotten quickly. Entertaining and engaging cinema? No. Nothing performances with flat faces and mistaking silence for subtlety.

belphegor8818 I gave 3 stars mostly because of genre, it states that it is COMEDY, and I was prepared to watch some comedy, but it was pure life DRAMA. Movie is OK, i watched better, but its not bad. I was pretty disappointed because I expected to watch some fun-time comedy, and not drama.About actors; they ware good. Clive Owen, is often underrated as an actor, where hi does his usual solid performance as a recovering alcoholic-father. But it is the supporting actors who bring this drama spotlight. Jaeden Lieberher, who plays the kid role, is good, and you can enjoy his performance as young drama actor.

shadytree-34066 Having read all of the above reviews, I won't waste space by summarizing the story line again. Four points: one, the title is murky; the Anthony's (the son) confirmation is an event that happens after the movie ends; granted, the young son's weekend with his father is a rite of passage, but I don't think the title ties it in; two, I like the fact that the movie has one singular objective, which is to find the Walt's toolbox; in a way, the father's future hangs on it; three, I thought the casting and performances were fine, sincere, workmanlike; the best performance of Clive Owen I've seen is "Words and Pictures"; (check it out); four, the ending was unsatisfying and unrealistic, as another reviewer pointed out; SPOILER ALERT: Walt, Anthony, and Allen return to the pawn shop; Allen steals the toolbox, runs out; all three jump in the car and drive away;cut to the end of the movie, where father and son have a bonding moment and "life will be good." How can it be "good" when, assuming the pawnshop owner is not an idiot, that he wrote down the license plate and contacted the police; Walt used his ex-wife's car which will be traced back to him. The pawnshop owner can identify Walt from their first ruinous encounter. Not being a student of law and not wanting to take the time to elaborate on the crimes committed, I will only say the consequences for Walt, Anthony, and Bonnie (Walt's ex) will damage their relationships. How could writer/director Bob Nelson ignore this outcome? Up to this point, the picture was grounded in the grittiness of the harsh world; Nelson, not dealing with this plot point, spoiled the picture for me.

CineMuseFilms At one level The Confirmation (2016) is a simple and endearing story of a young boy spending a weekend bonding with his recovering-alcoholic father. However, the Catholic ritual in the film's title and the church confessionals that bookend the film suggest more serious themes. Although labelled a comedy, the story is really a dramatic portrait of the growing distance between traditional notions of morality and the ethical relativities of today's post-GFC world.Eight year-old Anthony (Jaeden Lieberher) has not spent much time with his father Walt (Clive Owen) since the divorce, and when mum has a weekend away with her new husband it is a rare chance for father and son to bond. Walt has a lot of issues, including alcohol, unemployment, a foreclosed mortgage and a broken down truck, so the weekend does not look promising for Anthony whose confirmation is only a week away. When thieves steal Walt's specialised hand- made carpenter tools, the pair spend the weekend tracking them down and in the process get to know each other. It is an emotional journey through neighborhoods that have hit hard times and where even thieves are pitiable and forgiven. There are several near-encounters with real danger and scenes of conventional comedy where many conservative parental boundaries are ignored. Through it all, it is a story about an irresponsible loser whose life is being turned around through the emerging relationship with his over-responsible son.The film starts with an impatient priest urging an innocent child to confess his sins and ends with him amazed at just how many sins can be committed in such a short time. In between, of course, Anthony had a coming of age journey in the real-world. Some may think the narrative unoriginal and the adult-child inversion a predictable cliché. But it does not look or feel like that. It is a heart- warming and tightly scripted two-hander with everything anchored by excellent acting performances that balance emotional insight with a well-paced plot line. Owen plays an unstable but good man, and his performance is pitched at just the right level to be both convincing and likable. However, the real star is Lieberher who authentically plays wise-beyond-his-age innocence and growing understanding of his father. Their synergy together is delightful. The moral of the story is that what priests expect and life delivers are vastly different, and young Anthony has learnt more about human values in a weekend than many learn in a lifetime.

dansview The film makers chose not to feature the intense desperation of the Italian film The Bicycle Thief, used zero profanity, and a deadpan kid. Those may actually be reasons why some would dislike this film, but I found it all oddly seductive. Like another reviewer mentioned, nobody was vicious or truly mean here. Almost everyone, despite their poverty, had soul. Imagine a world where even in a gray desperate setting, people restrain themselves from the savagery that such places evoke in the real world.Some may ask why you need to cast a British guy in a film set in Washington and filmed in Canada. But I found Owen endearing and the dialogue he was given sublime. Someone decided that his face and demeanor fit the character, and I believe they did. Good call.Most of the "stars" are not really stars, and I appreciated seeing them get some work. Robert Forster is perfect for these roles, and Maria Bello totally looked the part. I don't know why they needed to make the boy be eight years old. The actor was way older than that. Clearly an eight year old would not be able to think or act as this one did. They should have made him 10, although the actor was 12. The unbelievable age thing was an awkward glitch for me.I'm glad they didn't use a soundtrack. The silence helped illustrate the depressed nature of the town. I've been to a depressed town in Washington. It's real.For whatever reasons, these film makers made the choice to present this story in a sort of Jim Jarmusch existentially absurd way. I liked that approach and did not judge it by other potential ways of doing it. I accepted it for what it was.