Admittedly, this is one Welles' lesser pictures, but still wonderful and smart and visually stunning the way only a Welles picture could be. Collectively, I'm not entirely sure it all comes together- the story or the film. Some of the plot points were a little hard to pick up on, and the film itself has a feel of being slapped together with very butcher-block style editing. I know from the history that Welles cut the film himself against a deadline to enter it in the 1955 Venice Film Festival, so maybe that was a problem. The story concerns a mega-millionaire who pays his daughter's suitor to find out who he was before he was the great Mr. Arkadin. Yet anyone who is in a position to know is mysterious killed, presumably by Arkadin himself. The individual characters are memorable. Mischa Auer is superb as a flea circus entertainer, as are Katina Paxinou as a one-time gang leader and Michael Redgrave as a curiosity shop propietor. On the other hand, I was puzzled by Welles' casting of Robert Arden in the lead role as his daughter's boyfriend on the prowl. He plays it so over-the-top that he comes over like someone from a cheap 1940's gangster movie. Also, I didn't think Welles' character had much dramatic impact or was well thought out. Most unusual, for one of the world's greatest actors. All the same, I think Confidential Report/ Mr. Arkadin is well worth it for seeing the master at work. A fascinating film to watch, if somewhat flawed. 3*** out of 4
Review of Confidential Report
