''The Confirmation'' is a 2016 Canadian

drama Drama is the specific mode of fiction represented in performance: a play, opera, mime, ballet, etc., performed in a theatre, or on radio or television.Elam (1980, 98). Considered as a genre of poetry in general, the dramatic mode has b ...

film starring Clive Owen, Jaeden Martell, and

Maria Bello Maria Elena Bello (born April 18, 1967) is an American actress and writer. Her film roles include '' Permanent Midnight'' (1998), '' Payback'' (1999), '' Coyote Ugly'' (2000), ''The Cooler'' (2003), '' A History of Violence'' (2005), '' The Mumm ...

. Written and directed by Bob Nelson, who also produced it with Todd Hoffman, the film concerns a young boy (Martell), who tries to reconnect with his divorced father (Owen). The film also co-stars

Robert Forster Robert Wallace Forster Jr. (July 13, 1941 – October 11, 2019) was an American actor, known for his roles as John Cassellis in '' Medium Cool'' (1969), Captain Dan Holland in ''The Black Hole'' (1979), Abdul Rafai in '' The Delta Force'' (1986 ...

Tim Blake Nelson Timothy Blake Nelson (born May 11, 1964) is an American actor and playwright. Described as a "modern character actor", his roles include Delmar O'Donnell in '' O Brother, Where Art Thou?'' (2000), Gideon in '' Minority Report'' (2002), Dr. Pend ...

Patton Oswalt Patton Peter Oswalt (born January 27, 1969) is an American stand-up comedian, actor and writer. He is known as Spence Olchin in the sitcom ''The King of Queens'' (1998–2007) and for narrating the sitcom '' The Goldbergs'' (2013–present) as ...

, and

Matthew Modine Matthew Avery Modine (born March 22, 1959) is an American actor and filmmaker, who rose to prominence through his role as U.S. Marine Private/Sergeant J.T. "Joker" Davis in ''Full Metal Jacket''. His other film roles include the title character ...

. It marked the first time Nelson had ever directed a film. ''The Confirmation'' received a limited release in selected theaters in the United States and on iTunes on March 18, 2016.

Plot

Walt, a divorced father and his eight-year-old son, Anthony, are about to spend a somewhat predictable weekend together, nevertheless, when a valuable toolbox gets stolen, the search for the thieves will soon turn into a true family bonding.

Cast

* Clive Owen as Walt * Jaeden Martell as Anthony *

as Bonnie *

as Otto *

as Vaughn *

as Drake *

as Kyle *

Stephen Tobolowsky Stephen Harold Tobolowsky (born May 30, 1951) is an American character actor. He is known for film roles such as insurance agent Ned Ryerson in '' Groundhog Day'' and amnesiac Sammy Jankis in '' Memento'', as well as such television characters ...

as Father Lyons * Spencer Drever as Allen *

Michael Eklund Michael Eklund is a Canadian television and film actor who is known for playing the role of the villain or antihero. His characters are often described as being "creepy". His roles include a kidnapper who terrorizes characters played by Halle ...

as Tucker *

Ryan Robbins Ryan John Currier (born November 26, 1972), better known as Ryan Robbins, is a Canadian actor. Early life Robbins was born in Victoria, British Columbia. Career Robbins is known for his roles as Ladon Radim in ''Stargate Atlantis'', Henry F ...

as Trout *

Garry Chalk Garry Chalk is a British-born Canadian actor. He has provided the voices for Optimus Primal of '' Beast Wars: Transformers'' and ''Beast Machines'', as well as Optimus Prime in the anime English dubs of '' Transformers: Armada'', ''Transformer ...

as Pete *Jennifer Copping as Roger's Wife *

Patrick Gilmore Patrick Sarsfield Gilmore (December 25, 1829 – September 24, 1892) was an Irish-born American composer and bandmaster who lived and worked in the United States after 1848. While serving in the Union Army during the U.S. Civil War, Gilmor ...

as Roger * Catherine Lough Haggquist as Officer Sue *

Luvia Petersen Luvia Petersen is a Canadian actress best known for her role on the TV series '' Continuum and Ghost Wars'', where she was part of the main cast. Petersen is also co-owner of Vancouver tattoo studio Liquid Amber Tattoo & Art Collective, which open ...

as Bartender Nancy * Eliza Faria as Linda

Production

Screenwriter Bob Nelson, who had previously worked on penning the screenplay for ''

Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...

'' (2013) directed by Alexander Payne, first mentioned the project in an interview with ''

Wall Street Journal ''The Wall Street Journal'' is an American business-focused, international daily newspaper based in New York City, with international editions also available in Chinese and Japanese. The ''Journal'', along with its Asian editions, is published ...

'' in February 2014, where he stated that he had completed the screenplay for the film.

Principal photography Principal photography is the phase of producing a film or television show in which the bulk of shooting takes place, as distinct from the phases of pre-production and post-production. Personnel Besides the main film personnel, such as a ...

commenced on November 11, 2014 in

Vancouver Vancouver ( ) is a major city in western Canada, located in the Lower Mainland region of British Columbia. As the List of cities in British Columbia, most populous city in the province, the 2021 Canadian census recorded 662,248 people in the ...

British Columbia British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...

. On November 18, 2014, it was announced that Clive Owen, Jaeden Lieberher and

were cast in the film, along with

and

. In September 2015, studio company Saban Films revealed that they had secured the distribution rights for a North American release.

Screenplay

Nelson says "I thought it would be funny if you took a boy who was really good and doesn't really sin and have him break pretty much every commandment in a day. That kind of gave me a basis to start, too, when I was filling out the notebook." The scene where Anthony keeps his father from getting alcohol is based on Bob Nelson's own experience. The story outline is based on the Italian classic ''

Bicycle Thieves ''Bicycle Thieves'' ( it, Ladri di biciclette; sometimes known in the United States as ''The Bicycle Thief'') is a 1948 Italian neorealist drama film directed by Vittorio De Sica. It follows the story of a poor father searching in post- World ...

'' by

Vittorio de Sica Vittorio De Sica ( , ; 7 July 1901 – 13 November 1974) was an Italian film director and actor, a leading figure in the neorealist movement. Four of the films he directed won Academy Awards: ''Sciuscià'' and ''Bicycle Thieves'' (honorary) ...

Release

''The Confirmation'' premiered on March 18, 2016 as a limited release in selected theaters in the United States and on iTunes.

Reception

review aggregator A review aggregator is a system that collects reviews of products and services (such as films, books, video games, software, hardware, and cars). This system stores the reviews and uses them for purposes such as supporting a website where users ...

Rotten Tomatoes Rotten Tomatoes is an American review-aggregation website for film and television. The company was launched in August 1998 by three undergraduate students at the University of California, Berkeley: Senh Duong, Patrick Y. Lee, and Stephen Wang ...

, the film has an approval rating of 91% based on 32 reviews, with an average rating of 6.7/10. On

Metacritic Metacritic is a website that aggregates reviews of films, TV shows, music albums, video games and formerly, books. For each product, the scores from each review are averaged (a weighted average). Metacritic was created by Jason Dietz, Marc ...

, the film holds a score of 65 out of 100, based on 11 critics, indicating "generally favorable reviews".

References

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Confirmation, The 2016 films English-language Canadian films 2016 comedy-drama films Canadian comedy-drama films Canadian independent films Saban Films films Films shot in Vancouver 2016 directorial debut films Films about father–son relationships 2010s English-language films 2010s Canadian films