Shapiro Pen Writes 122-Minute Stalin Drama for Daily Wire Release

The runtime of Ben Shapiro’s new feature Confession is 2 hours and 12 minutes. The film is set for a limited one-night theatrical release on November 11. It will become available on The Daily Wire streaming service immediately after that date.

The picture is a drama set in Stalin-era Russia. Shapiro, the right-wing commentator and co-founder of The Daily Wire, wrote the script. Václav Marhoul directed. The cast includes Rob Lowe, James Franco, Jennifer Jason Leigh, Kodi Smit-McPhee, Nick Nolte, Richard Brake, Emile Hirsch, Brad Dourif, and Dean Norris. Producers for the film are Dallas Sonnier, Shapiro, Lowe, Travis Mills, and Amanda Presmyk.

The story centers on Alexei, a former literature professor played by Lowe. He is arrested in Moscow in 1938 and charged with being a counterrevolutionary. He is held at Lubyanka Prison. His interrogator is Vladimir, played by Franco, who is revealed to be Alexei’s former student. Vladimir pressures Alexei for information about Father Mikulski, a dissident priest played by Dourif who has published an anti-Soviet pamphlet.

The narrative takes place primarily in two locations: an interrogation room and a prison cell shared by Alexei and three other inmates. Nick Nolte appears as a Jewish inmate who delivers a monologue about atrocities. Emile Hirsch plays a former concert pianist. Richard Brake plays a cynical prisoner who coaches Alexei on survival. Jennifer Jason Leigh portrays Alexei’s ex-wife, who visits to urge him to inform on the priest. Kodi Smit-McPhee plays Alexei’s estranged son.

The dialogue references Russian literary masters including Dostoevsky, Pushkin, and Tolstoy. The reviewer for The Hollywood Reporter noted that the dynamic between the two main characters resembles a literary salon rather than a tense interrogation. The review described the execution as stilted and the film as terminally tedious. It suggested the movie was designed to showcase the screenwriter’s education in Russian literature.

Cinematographer Peter Menzies Jr. provided harsh visuals for the project. The production designer was Vincent Reynaud. Ludek Hudec edited the film. Emma Fleming designed the costumes. David Guglielmo was responsible for casting. The Daily Wire serves as the distributor.

Marhoul is known for his 2019 film The Painted Bird. The review criticized the unnatural realism of the guards and soldiers in Confession. It noted that Nick Nolte’s diminished voice reduced the impact of his monologue. The film is described as gritty and intense in tone.