rj-27 It's no accident that about a third of the way through the movie, Clive Owen and Jaeden Lieberher, as father and son in The Confirmation are watching an old episode of The Rifleman - the quintessential TV western that was more about a father relating to his son in difficult and dire situations than it was about his gun.Clive Owen plays a divorced, alcoholic father who sees his son Jaeden Lieberher on weekends. One particular weekend, the father has his woodworking tools stolen. These are specialized carpentry tools that are irreplaceable. The son accompanies his dad on a series of misadventures in an attempt to recover the lost tools, which he must have for an upcoming job that he desperately needs.While a comparison can be made to the classic The Bicycle Thief, this movie stands on its own merits as an endearing case study of a boy's love for his father, willing to do whatever it takes to keep him on the straight and narrow path, and enabling both parent and child to rise to the occasion and succeed.This is a wonderful role for Owen and it is beautifully played. While Lieberher's character may seem a bit more precocious than would be expected of such a young boy, it does not come off as unbelievable.This is a movie the whole family can enjoy, all the more so because of its timeless themes of suffering and redemption, and not portraying fathers as the likely losers you so often see in Hollywood these days.

adonis98-743-186503 Eight year old Anthony is somewhat uneasy about spending the weekend with his alcoholic, down-on-his-luck carpenter dad Walt while his mom Bonnie and her new husband Kyle go to a Catholic retreat together. Walt is just as uneasy about spending time with Anthony, especially since their first day together is a series of characteristically unfortunate events, including his truck breaking down, his landlord locking him out of the house, and the theft of his toolbox, which he needs for an upcoming job. As Walt and Anthony set about finding the guy who stole the tools and improvise around their other misfortunes, they begin to discover a true connection with each other, causing Walt to become a better father and Anthony to reveal the promise and potential of the good man he will become. The Confirmation is a really great movie just for the performance of Clive Owen and the little kid the father - son relationship feels real and forced the movie has some problems mostly with this whole plot about him finding his toolbox but other than that this was a really great movie about a father and his son trying to connect once more but also a really nice dramatic film on it's own 9/10.

Karl Ericsson One reviewer has insight-fully recognized this film as a remake of the Bicycle Thieves by Vittorio de Sica. I'm impressed by his insight but not by his judgment.You see, even a bleak copy of the Bicycle Thieves will make a good film as long as there is still a scene in it resembling the slapping scene at the end of the Bicycle Thieves and there is such a scene but my impressing reviewer missed it because it is not as broadly laid out as the mentioned scene in the original but very touching and thoughtful nevertheless.In this scene the father does not get slapped. On the contrary, he is slapping somebody else but in the midst of this slapping he is interrupted and made to realize that the thief that he is slapping is a family man just like himself, driven to desperation by poverty and he cannot go on slapping the man and instead he forgives him. This is great Cinema and makes this film a worthy remake of the Bicycle Thieves and its end scene.Hats off.

SteveMierzejewski This is one film where the synopsis does not do the film justice. If I had only read that, I doubt if I would have watched the film at all. Even though the summary is correct, it fails to elucidate the subtleties in the plot and the fine acting that underpins the storyline.First of all, I hate films that feature kids. The kids are all stereotyped in most films. Either they are too cute or too cynical, spoiled, and arrogant to be compelling. You can be sure that 1) they will be the one that cause the problems or 2) they will be transformed into 'good kids' by the end of the film.Jaeden Lieberher, who plays the main kid role, is believable. Clive Owen, who I think is often underrated as an actor, does his usual solid performance as a recovering alcoholic-father. But it is the supporting actors who bring this slice-of-life drama to perfection. The emotional fine points in the plot could not have come through without them.After watching it myself, I decided to watch the film with my 13-year-old son. Normally, he likes the action movie, super hero, special effects-laden films, so this was a bit of a transition. The verdict? He could associate with a lot of the interactions that went on in the film from a kid's point of view and enjoyed watching it. Adults will like it for the insights into adult relationships.It will not be for everyone. I would guess most kids will be waiting for the next exploding car or 15 minute fight scene, which will never happen, just as they never happen so frequently in real life.I know this film will pass largely unnoticed, which is why I felt obliged to write a review of it. There are those filmgoers out there who still appreciate a good film in its purest form.