Chirphymium It's entirely possible that sending the audience out feeling lousy was intentional

Griff Lees Very good movie overall, highly recommended. Most of the negative reviews don't have any merit and are all pollitically based. Give this movie a chance at least, and it might give you a different perspective.

Aneesa Wardle The story, direction, characters, and writing/dialogue is akin to taking a tranquilizer shot to the neck, but everything else was so well done.

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

Scott LeBrun Robert De Niro and Robert Duvall are compelling and believable as two brothers, Des and Tom Spellacy. Des (De Niro) is a savvy Monsignor with the Catholic Church of L.A., and Tom is a hard driving detective with the L.A.P.D. Tom is soon on the case of Louise Fazenda, a "party girl" who's been hacked into two pieces. The case will involve various characters, chief among them a truly slimy construction magnate played superbly by Charles Durning. The case will even involve the Church, to some extent.Scripted by Joan Didion and John Gregory Dunne, from the latters' novel, this takes its inspiration from the notorious unsolved "Black Dahlia" murder of real life. The material does have real emotional resonance, as well as an enjoyably sordid and sleazy quality as things like prostitution and a stag film factor into the tale. As we will see, the characters are often compromised to one degree or another, even if they're not outright corrupt like the Amsterdam (Durning) character. Deliberately paced, and moody, "True Confessions" benefits from a straightforward approach by director Ulu Grosbard ("Straight Time"). The filmmaking is slick, but doesn't call attention to itself at the expense of spinning a good and meaty yarn. The music by Georges Delerue is affecting without ever becoming overly manipulative.Two moving performances by the two Roberts are the heart and soul of this fine film. The supporting cast is exemplary, with Durning scoring as the vile antagonist. Kenneth McMillan regularly steals his scenes as Toms' cheerfully, mildly sleazy partner Frank Crotty. Ed Flanders, Cyril Cusack, Burgess Meredith, Rose Gregorio, Dan Hedaya, Jeanette Nolan, and Pat Corley all add an indelible presence and gravitas to the proceedings. Be sure to watch for Louisa Moritz, Darwyn Carson, Matthew Faison, Richard Foronjy, and James Hong in small roles.Well worth watching.Seven out of 10.

vkutan This film tells the story of two brothers and also two of the greatest actors of own generation, story that have potential, but... Premise of film is thriller/drama, but part that was supposed to be thriller was not elaborated clearly. The plot is about nonsense. Robert De Niro and Robert Duvall give the best that could give from this screenplay, and Charles Durning as Jack Amsterdam was quite remarkable. Pace of this movie is slow, even too slow and plot is also predictable. Very bad ending as well. This is a film that was to easy to forget. In short, pretty average film with some potential to be a true classic. Rating:6/10

jackasstrange Let me start saying that i really tried to like this film. DeNiro is one of my favorite actors, and is an excellent actor, so is Duvall, but...that's impossible to like this film. It's too bad for anyone to like it. I have a highlight for the ripped-off marriage scene from the Godfather. It's perhaps the nicest thing that i've to say about this film, if that is saying too much. The plot is fairly nonsense. It goes around, comes back, and keep doing circles, but never go ahead until the last ten minutes, when the film suddenly ends. It's also one of these films which don't has any conflicts, and a thriller without any conflicts isn't a thriller. In fact, it looked more as a drama film with a crime investigation theme. Better, a nouvelle Vaguè film with a crime investigation. However, a crucial difference between this film and the conventional nouvelle vague, apart from the superior story- telling, it is while the latter is joking about the films, this one is the joke itself. The character development is also an abomination, but i'm sure that it isn't even worth mentioning. The characters just pop out and start doing things without any solid reason. So don't waste your time and skip this film. You aren't losing nothing. 3.7/10

JasparLamarCrabb TRUE CONFESSIONS tells the story of two brothers (a high ranking Catholic priest and an LA cop) and their twisted involvement in the infamous "Black Dahlia" murder case. It's a frank, sometimes brutal story of political corruption within city hall as well as within the Church. Robert DeNiro and Robert Duvall are the brothers and though they don't look anything alike, they have similar temperaments and give excellent performances. The direction of Ulu Grosbard, a stage director making one of his rare forays into movie-making, is deliberate but never boring. The supporting cast consists of some of the very best character actors: Burgess Meredith as a vindictive priest, Kenneth McMillan, Charles Durning, and Ed Flanders. The excellent cinematography is by the legendary Owen Roizman and the haunting music score is by Georges Delerue. The chilly, sparse script is by the husband & wife team of John Gregory Dunne & Joan Didion.