MovieChat Forums > Dark Blue (2003) Discussion > The best confession scene in movie histo...

The best confession scene in movie history

posted 16 years ago by farms-1
25 replies | jump to latest

I don't know if anyone else feels this way, but Kurt Russell's final momemts, on the stage in front of everybody, confessing to a lifetime of murders and general heartlessness (his word actually) was great. You know when he enters in a rush he's going to make a scene and probably expose his crooked boss, but you simply can't believe it when he's up there virtually guaranteeing himself a life sentence in an attempt to make amends for his murdered partner. I'm not a big Kurt Russell fan, but I though his little impromptu speech/confession was brilliantly unique.

[–] Psychological_Gold 11 years ago

I thought the speech scene was terrible. Kurt wasn't bad, but the the actual scene itself was just poor. It was too obvious and heavy-handed. The movie was a pretty gritty and entertaining cop drama up until that dumb speech--then it turned into an ill advised life lesson from the screenwriters.

[–] Doc110894 11 years ago

Yes, I love this scene. Very memorable.

[–] shoobe01 11 years ago

Not bad, but I like Nick Nolte's confession in Blue Chips. Similar, press-conference after the game. Also nicely motivated: he doesn't come to his own conclusion, but is pushed that last step by a question from a reporter. It flows very well.

Good movie. Worth a watch in general.

[–] deck007-1 9 years ago

Off the top of my head I can name a few. But there are so many it would take a huge amount of time to come up with anybody's top 10 IMHO.

Anyway - Jack in "A Few Good Men". YOU CAN'T HANDLE THE TRUTH!

Faye Dunaway in the GREAT movie "Chinatown" when she has to confess who the girl in her house is - Jack listens to this & keeps slapping her. She's my sister (slap), she's my daughter (slap), she's my sister (slap), she's my daughter (thrown to the floor), she's my sister AND my daughter, do you get it, or is it too tough for you?

The Chinatown one would be in my top ten.

In a recent movie - when Matt Damon confesses to the small town people that what he has been telling them certainly isn't true. This was in the movie Promised Land about Fracking. This would not be in my top ten.

Another one I'm just adding cause its recent and it has IMHO one of the best actors of his generation, Denzel Washington. The movie was "Flight" where because he was such a great airline pilot, he saved the passengers & crew in a jet by flying it upside down which no other pilot could have done.

But even though - he was the only pilot that could have saved them - some clues pop up in the investigation that somebody in the flight crew of that flight drank booze which was illegal to do for a set amount of hours before you could pilot a plane.

We see in the movie that Denzel is an alcoholic & drug addict - but it hadn't yet affected his ability to be a great pilot (although it eventually would, its just biology).

Anyway, when he has to testify in a hearing about that flight (knowing that nobody else could have done what he did), he admits he is an alcoholic, was drinking on that flight and was even drunk right then as he was giving his testimony. And by doing this he knew that his days of being a pilot were over, or at least for quite some time, I can't remember that part for sure.

This wouldn't be in my top 10.

How about Kevin Spacey in The Usual Subjects?

How about the great Jack Lemmon in the great movie Glengarry Glen Ross when he has to confess to Spacey that he stole the leads?

[–] johndeckbose 9 years ago

It's interesting that the two confession scenes people are referencing here -- from Dark Blue and Blue Chips -- are largely the product of the same man, Ron Shelton, who wrote Blue Chips and directed Dark Blue.

[–] shoobe01 9 years ago

Thanks for that info. I had not noticed, or had forgotten. Interesting.

[–] Nemesis42 9 years ago

Agree !

:)

[–] franzkabuki 8 years ago

Russell sells it pretty well I guess, but ultimately it feels stagey and forced - "a grandstanding Capraesque finale full of confessional hot air and redemptive rhetoric" as one critic described it.

"facts are stupid things" Ronald Reagan