Taglines: It’s not about the money. It’s about the money.
What Jake Vig doesn’t know just might get him killed. A sharp and polished grifter, Jake has just swindled thousands of dollars from the unsuspecting Lionel Dolby with the help of his crew: Insideman Gordo, Shills Miles, and Big Al–and two corrupt LAPD officers, Lloyd Whitworth and Omar Manzano. But when both Lionel and Big Al turn up dead, it becomes clear that Lionel wasn’t just any mark–as Jake soon learns, he was an accountant for eccentric crime boss Winston King.
Never one to shy away from a challenge, Jake offers to repay The King by pulling off the biggest con of his career. The mark? Morgan Price, a banker with deep ties to organized crime. With so much riding on the outcome, Jake decides to bring in a brash, blonde pickpocket named Lily, who joins the crew in a complex scheme involving corporate loans, creative accounting, wire transfers and off-shore accounts. Jake and his crew will have to stay one step ahead of both the criminals and the cops to finally settle.
Confidence is a crime drama film starring Edward Burns, Dustin Hoffman, Andy Garcia and Rachel Weisz, directed by James Foley, and written by Doug Jung. The movie was filmed on location at the Deep Nightclub in Hollywood, in Los Angeles and in Ontario, California.
About the Story
A group of grifters rip off their latest mark and celebrate, while de facto leader of the group Jake Vig (Edward Burns) explains the art of the con. When one of the four (Louis Lombardi) is found shot to death, the other three learn that the latest money they stole actually belonged to a local L.A. crime lord called The King (Dustin Hoffman). Jake proposes that the grifters work for the King and steal money from Morgan Price (Robert Forster), a rival who owns a bank.
Jake enlists the aid of his remaining partners, Gordo (Paul Giamatti) and Miles (Brian Van Holt), and also convinces an independent con artist named Lily (Rachel Weisz) to round out their foursome. The King, a ruthless killer who suffers from ADHD, demands that one of his men, Lupus (Franky G), also come along.
The con involves bribing a bank vice president into wiring money offshore. The plan hits a snag when Special Agent Gunther Butan (Andy García) shows up in L.A., looking to finally bust Jake, whom he has followed for years. Butan forces corrupt LAPD detectives Omar Manzano (Luis Guzmán) and Lloyd Whitworth (Donal Logue) to switch their allegiance from Jake to him.
After hearing about Butan’s arrival, a nervous Jake pulls the plug on the whole con. He screams at Lily, making her walk out. Lupus gets Jake to reconsider nixing the con, hinting that The King will torture and kill the grifters if the plan falls short. The con is back on, though now without Lilly’s help.
The bribed bank VP wires the money to Gordo in Belize. Gordo brings it to Ontario Airport, where he is met by both Butan and The King’s men, both sides after the $5 million in a duffle bag. Butan arrests The King and confiscates the money.
Gordo disappears. Lupus, thinking the King has the money, reveals he was the one who killed Jake’s grifter friend. Lupus holds Jake at gunpoint, but is shot by Travis (Morris Chestnut), a henchman for Morgan Price. It turns out that when Lily walked out, she went straight to Price himself and revealed the entire con, which was taking place that minute. Price told Travis to locate Jake and find out exactly how the con was engineered, to stop such a thing from ever happening again.
Confidence
Directed by: James Foley
Starring: Edward Burns, Rachel Weisz, Andy García, Paul Giamatti, Luis Guzmán, Donal Logue, Brian Van Holt, Robert Forster, Franky G, Leland Orser, Morris Chestnut, Dustin Hoffman
Screenplay by: Doug Jung
Production Design by: William Arnold
Cinematography by: Juan Ruiz Anchía
Film Editing by: Stuart Levy
Costume Design by: Michele Michel
Set Decoration by: Maria Nay
Music by: Christophe Beck
MPAA Rating: R for language, violence and sexuality / nudity.
Studio: Lionsgate Films
Release Date: April 25, 2003
