Confidence’s main characters are all con men, creating elaborate situations that involve a group of in-the-know participants acting out a scenario for the purpose of stealing money from some hapless individual. The key to succeeding with their capers is the confidence they exude when acting out this "game." Nobody must catch on.

Edward Burns plays Jake Vig, the leader of this small group of thieves. Jake’s good at lying, and brags about it often. But he bites off more than he can chew when he and his cohorts steal a large sum of money from someone they think is an easy target, only to find out that the money really belongs to someone far more powerful and ruthless than any of them -- he’s known simply as The King (Dustin Hoffman). Realizing he is in over his head, Jake goes straight to The King and tries to make a deal to give the money back. When Jake and The King meet, though, one con leads to another and Jake ends up convincing The King to front even more money than he owes him so he can try to pull off an even bigger crime. The King and Jake are now partners.

There’s a lot to like about Confidence. The film is great looking and well acted, and the story, told mainly through flashbacks, does keep you guessing. The problem is this: Just as the film is about cons, I couldn’t help thinking that I was being conned by the film itself. Confidence is too self-aware, and it doesn’t keep a straight face. It’s as if in every scene someone is winking at you, always letting you know that the plot is going to twist in unpredictable (and unrealistic) ways and that the characters are not going to end up being what they seem. By the end I felt robbed a little, not unlike that unlucky character at the beginning of the film -- and it was too late to get my money back.

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