I Confess
Director: Alfred Hitchcock
Year Released: 1953
Rating: 2.5
A man confesses to a young priest (Montgomery Clift) that he murdered a lawyer and needs God's forgiveness - trouble is, the priest is considered to be the chief suspect in the crime and has his own secrets (including an old relationship with Anne Baxter's character) to keep hidden. Hitch himself provided a valid critique of this in his interview with Truffaut: it lacks in humor and is heavy-handed (the crucifix looms over everyone), but Truffaut is right in mentioning that Clift's austerity is impressive. The ending, with its not guilty verdict, crowd scene and shootout, turns out to be overdone, though the original play's ending (with the priest committing suicide) wouldn't have been an improvement. Nice to see Hitch's Catholicism tying into his Kafkaesque view on guilt....
