The Confession (2011 TV series)
Encyclopedia
The Confession is a 10-part web series
created by Kiefer Sutherland
, written and directed by Brad Mirman, and starring Kiefer Sutherland and John Hurt
. It premiered on Hulu
on 28 March 2011. Each episode (or "chapter") is around five to nine minutes long. It co-stars Daniel London
, Max Casella
, and Michael Badalucco
.
(Kiefer Sutherland) and a priest (John Hurt) discussing good and evil in the booth of a confessional in a Catholic church on a snowy Christmas Eve while showing flashbacks of the confessor in certain situations. We are shown that he will not kill people who do not deserve it and can show compassion. The confessor has a strong belief that the world should not accept rapists, child molesters, criminals and he believes they have to be taken care of because they have done harm to a person.
During the course of the series, the priest tries to get him to admit that what he does is wrong but he is not looking to stop or for forgiveness as it seems. The priest has to make a couple of life or death situations twice by admitting he wishes harm on other people and killed who deserve it and is forced to talk to the confessor otherwise he will kill people in the church.
The priest is eventually forced to make a confession by the confessor and to admit his darkest sin. The priest reluctantly admits that he beat his wife and eight year old son and was an alcoholic. He admits the terrible things he did to his wife and son. The priest says he left his son because of this. He said that he put his son's hand over the flame of a stove and scarred him all because the boy ran into the kitchen and bumped into his whiskey bottle making it shatter all over the floor while he was cooking in a drunken state. The confessor then shows him a scar on his hand revealing that the priest is his father and he was that eight year old boy. The confessor is the priest's son.
The confessor told him that if the priest admitted doing harm that he would not kill tonight. The confessor wishes he had a normal life but that was ripped away from him by the priest while he was very young. It is revealed in a flashback that the wife of the Priest (the Confessor's mother) committed suicide due to the priest's abuse. When she first threaten to jump from their balcony, the young priest urges her to do so, telling her that if she does not jump he will make her wish that she had. This history of abuse, along with the promise of more to come, drives the young woman to end her life
After this, he left his son in the apartment for three days until the building manager found him and the confessor says he spent 10 years in foster homes. The confessor in real time says that he can never forgive his father for all the suffering over the years and he feels he was responsible for his mother's death and that was his first lesson on life suicide or beatings. He mentions he finally found his father walking past him on the streets but was reluctant at first because he was wearing the priest collar when he passed by him but saw it in his eyes.
His intentions for coming to the confessional was to tell his life story and how his father made him what he is today. He does not want to kill his father even though that was his intention because that would not make up for the suffering he caused for him and his mother. He wants him to live a healthy life knowing what he did. He tells the father that the other reason he came was to see if the priest has changed. The confessor says he has and is showing love and compassion. However every killing the confessor has committed and will commit will be on his father's hands. He says he will give his father newspaper clippings of his killings every time to show and remind him that he made him this way. He does wound him with a gunshot however earlier by testing if the priest is afraid to die or not. He tells his father he will never change even though the priest says he can if he wants to. The confessor has no intention of changing and says goodbye father and leaves the confessional booth while the priest looks on.
Web series
A web series is a series of episodes released on the Internet or also by mobile or cellular phone, and part of the newly emerging medium called web television. A single instance of a web series program is called an episode .While the popularity of web series is continuing to rise, the concept...
created by Kiefer Sutherland
Kiefer Sutherland
Kiefer Sutherland is an English-born Canadian actor, producer and director, best known for his portrayal of Jack Bauer on the Fox thriller drama series 24 for which he has won an Emmy Award , a Golden Globe award , two Screen Actors Guild Awards and two Satellite...
, written and directed by Brad Mirman, and starring Kiefer Sutherland and John Hurt
John Hurt
John Vincent Hurt, CBE is an English actor, known for his leading roles as John Merrick in The Elephant Man, Winston Smith in Nineteen Eighty-Four, Mr. Braddock in The Hit, Stephen Ward in Scandal, Quentin Crisp in The Naked Civil Servant and An Englishman in New York...
. It premiered on Hulu
Hulu
Hulu is a website and over-the-top subscription service offering ad-supported on-demand streaming video of TV shows, movies, webisodes and other new media, trailers, clips, and behind-the-scenes footage from NBC, Fox, ABC, and Obstacle on October 20th 2011 Nickelodeon and CBS and many other...
on 28 March 2011. Each episode (or "chapter") is around five to nine minutes long. It co-stars Daniel London
Daniel London
Daniel London is an American actor, possibly most notably famous for his roles in Patch Adams and Rent.-Life and career:Born and raised in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, London began writing and acting in plays in high school. While a student at Mt...
, Max Casella
Max Casella
Max Casella is an American actor. He is known for his roles on the television series The Sopranos, Doogie Howser, M.D., and as the voice of Daxter in the Jak and Daxter video game series.-Life and career:...
, and Michael Badalucco
Michael Badalucco
Michael Badalucco is an American actor most famous for his role as lawyer Jimmy Berluti on the ABC legal drama The Practice...
.
Plot
The plot revolves around a hitmanHitman
A hitman is a person hired to kill another person.- Hitmen in organized crime :Hitmen are largely linked to the world of organized crime. Hitmen are hired people who kill people for money. Notable examples include Murder, Inc., Mafia hitmen and Richard Kuklinski.- Other cases involving hitmen...
(Kiefer Sutherland) and a priest (John Hurt) discussing good and evil in the booth of a confessional in a Catholic church on a snowy Christmas Eve while showing flashbacks of the confessor in certain situations. We are shown that he will not kill people who do not deserve it and can show compassion. The confessor has a strong belief that the world should not accept rapists, child molesters, criminals and he believes they have to be taken care of because they have done harm to a person.
During the course of the series, the priest tries to get him to admit that what he does is wrong but he is not looking to stop or for forgiveness as it seems. The priest has to make a couple of life or death situations twice by admitting he wishes harm on other people and killed who deserve it and is forced to talk to the confessor otherwise he will kill people in the church.
The priest is eventually forced to make a confession by the confessor and to admit his darkest sin. The priest reluctantly admits that he beat his wife and eight year old son and was an alcoholic. He admits the terrible things he did to his wife and son. The priest says he left his son because of this. He said that he put his son's hand over the flame of a stove and scarred him all because the boy ran into the kitchen and bumped into his whiskey bottle making it shatter all over the floor while he was cooking in a drunken state. The confessor then shows him a scar on his hand revealing that the priest is his father and he was that eight year old boy. The confessor is the priest's son.
The confessor told him that if the priest admitted doing harm that he would not kill tonight. The confessor wishes he had a normal life but that was ripped away from him by the priest while he was very young. It is revealed in a flashback that the wife of the Priest (the Confessor's mother) committed suicide due to the priest's abuse. When she first threaten to jump from their balcony, the young priest urges her to do so, telling her that if she does not jump he will make her wish that she had. This history of abuse, along with the promise of more to come, drives the young woman to end her life
After this, he left his son in the apartment for three days until the building manager found him and the confessor says he spent 10 years in foster homes. The confessor in real time says that he can never forgive his father for all the suffering over the years and he feels he was responsible for his mother's death and that was his first lesson on life suicide or beatings. He mentions he finally found his father walking past him on the streets but was reluctant at first because he was wearing the priest collar when he passed by him but saw it in his eyes.
His intentions for coming to the confessional was to tell his life story and how his father made him what he is today. He does not want to kill his father even though that was his intention because that would not make up for the suffering he caused for him and his mother. He wants him to live a healthy life knowing what he did. He tells the father that the other reason he came was to see if the priest has changed. The confessor says he has and is showing love and compassion. However every killing the confessor has committed and will commit will be on his father's hands. He says he will give his father newspaper clippings of his killings every time to show and remind him that he made him this way. He does wound him with a gunshot however earlier by testing if the priest is afraid to die or not. He tells his father he will never change even though the priest says he can if he wants to. The confessor has no intention of changing and says goodbye father and leaves the confessional booth while the priest looks on.
Reception
According to the NY Times, the show is "crisp and attractive. The short nature of the episodes makes it easy for viewers to consume under time constrained environments. However, the overall effect of the show feels less like the beginning of something new but rather the end".Episodes
- "Chapter 1" — aired 28 March 2011
- "Chapter 2" — aired 28 March 2011
- "Chapter 3" — aired 28 March 2011
- "Chapter 4" — aired 5 April 2011
- "Chapter 5" — aired 5 April 2011
- "Chapter 6" — aired 11 April 2011
- "Chapter 7" — aired 18 April 2011
- "Chapter 8" — aired 25 April 2011
- "Chapter 9" — aired 2 May 2011
- "Chapter 10" — aired 2 May 2011
External links
- The Confession at HuluHuluHulu is a website and over-the-top subscription service offering ad-supported on-demand streaming video of TV shows, movies, webisodes and other new media, trailers, clips, and behind-the-scenes footage from NBC, Fox, ABC, and Obstacle on October 20th 2011 Nickelodeon and CBS and many other...