Rotten
Two exciting, dangerous actors have little to do: Duvall spends too much time pacing and waiting; De Niro's big scene has him hanging up his vestments.
Richard Corliss, TIME Magazine
True Confessions
Two brothers out to save everyone else. But they couldn't save each other.
1981 · 1h 48m · R
Crime, Drama
Directed by
Ulu Grosbard
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True Confessions
Overview
A cop clashes with his priest brother while investigating the brutal murder of a young prostitute.
Director and cast
- Ulu Grosbard Director
- Robert De Niro as Father Des Spellacy (as Robert DeNiro)
- Robert Duvall as Det. Tom Spellacy
- Charles Durning as Jack Amsterdam
- Kenneth McMillan as Frank Crotty
- Ed Flanders as Dan T. Campion
- Cyril Cusack as Cardinal Danaher
- Burgess Meredith as Msgr. Seamus Fargo
- Rose Gregorio as Brenda Samuels
- Dan Hedaya as Howard Terkel
- Gwen Van Dam Cast
Critics on Rotten Tomatoes
Top critics, in their words
75%
Tomatometer
Rotten
Given the powerhouse topline casting combo and provocative theme, True Confessions has to be chalked up as something of a disappointment.
Variety Staff, Variety
Rotten
Numerous vital characters are dropped and the case-solving stripped of its complexity, with the resulting film over-linear and one-dimensional.
Geoff Andrew, Time Out
Fresh
True Confessions contains scenes that are just about as good as scenes can be. Then why does the movie leave us disoriented and disappointed, and why does the ending fail dismally?
Roger Ebert, Chicago Sun-Times
Fresh
Quite simply it's one of the most entertaining, most intelligent and most thoroughly satisfying commercial American films in a very long time.
Vincent Canby, New York Times
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