Monday Movie Reviews #6: I Confess

Every time I watch a Hitchcock film I haven't seen before, I find myself marveling at how well he made movies. Even when he had to deal with an indifferent plot, or bad actors, or poor technical equipment, he was still capable of making a decent film. I Confess doesn't suffer from any of these problems and it is a magnificent example of Hitchcock's work. Some spoileration after the jump.

Hitchcock was a master at giving away what would be the plot with all the twists in a lesser movie and making the suspense out of what happens after all the action is over. This movie opens with a murder and the murderer confessing his crime to a priest (Montgomery Clift). The action begins when the murderer changes his mind about making restitution of the money he stole and the question becomes "will the priest reveal what he knows to the police?"

Tension builds as more and more suspicion is placed on the priest himself. He visited the victim the next day. He has a connection with a woman (Ann Baxter) being blackmailed by the victim. And then (SPOILER!) the murderer decides to actively plant suspicion on the priest.

Lots of spoilers from here on, if you don't want to know, just go get the movie and don't read the rest.


Eventually, the evidence builds to the point where the police arrest and charge the priest with murder. During the trial, the prosecution twists events to imply that the priest has had an affair with the blackmailed woman and their illicit liaisons have taken place after he took orders. The priest is acquitted, despite his refusal during the trial to say anything in his defense other than that he is innocent and cannot say more. But the weight of public opinion is against him; even the jury is convinced that he is guilty, but they cannot convict him merely because there is insufficient evidence to overcome the presumption of innocence.

It works out in the end, but I'll refrain from spoiling the last little bit for you. Before it ends, however, the priest's despair at his situation combined with his determination to keep faith with his vows is one of the more moving things I've seen on film. This film is right up there with A Man for All Seasons in its portrayal of a man determined to be true to his own conscience. It's a must-see.