The opening scene brings to mind the opening in Citizen Kane (1941), but here the scene has a completely different symbolical meaning.  There is a lower angle shot of a castle with the sky in the background and a small city in the foreground.  The black and white photography creates a concentrated contrast, as the castle appears almost black.  Simultaneously, apprehensive music plays in the background which enhances the ominous atmosphere, as several cuts display directional arrows stating, “Direction”.  These scenes also inform that the story takes place in Canada, later it discloses its exact location, Quebec.  Eventually these arrows guide the audience through an open window into a room where a body lays lifeless on the floor while a moving door drapes moves suggesting that someone recently left the room.  Strikingly, the audience will recognize the person who left as the murderer, as the viewer's curiosity grows exponentially. 

Through the eye of the camera, the audience gets to follow this dubious character dressed in a long dark robe, as the person enters a Catholic church while the film's protagonist, Father Logan (Montgomery Clift), observes the person entering the church.  Father Logan makes his way to the sanctuary to see who it is, as he finds a troubled man who confesses to him that he has just killed a man.  For those who do not know, the rules of the Sacrament of the Confession state that Father Logan cannot reveal anything from a confession.  This reasoning stems from the idea that what a person shares with the priest is only a matter between the person seeking absolution and God, as the priest merely functions a sounding board.  Thus, the knowledge that Father Logan acquires that evening in the sanctuary must remain a secret, as long as he wants to remain a priest for the Catholic Church.

The story unfolds in a subtle and delicate manner, as if a whisper could ruin the whole scenario.  However, no whisper breaks the fragile thread on which the audience ventures through Hitchcock's masterful artistry.  Yet, the audience waits in deep suspenseful anticipation that Father Logan will spill the beans in regards to his sinister knowledge.  Instead, the story becomes more intricate, as further details begin to taint the truth.  Cleverly, Hitchcock displays his understanding for society and the psychology of the audience, as he makes Father Logan appear as both a villain and a saint.  This is also evident throughout the film, as Hitchcock frames several scenes in a way that expresses the notion of Father Logan's duality.

Hitchcock’s I Confess offers a stunning cinematic journey where the true mystery does not rest within a murder.  No, the true mystery in this film appears through the mirror of the society that Hitchcock creates by overtly displaying stereotypes and social generalizations.  These generalizations transfer negative thoughts in the perception of Christian morality, and even the audience becomes engrossed in these thoughts, as Hitchcock shrewdly weaves the script, cast, mise-en-scene, and camera work into one potent concoction where no one will be untouched.  Despite being a small film, I Confess displays Hitchcock's cinematic genius and leaves the audience with a compelling story to ponder for some time.   

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COUNTRY

USA

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