When billionaire Howard Hughes was asked how much more money it would take to make him happy, he reportedly replied, "A little bit more." Greed is like that, an itch that must constantly be scratched. The con men known as "grifters" prey upon people who have a craving for more. As the main character in this nifty caper flick puts it, "Playing the big con is like putting on a play where everyone knows their parts except for the mark." James Foley directs Confidence from a screenplay by Doug Jung.

Jake Vig (Ed Burns) is a flashy con man working in Los Angeles with a seasoned crew (Paul Giamatti, Brian Van Holt, Louis Lombardi) plus some undercover cops (Donal Logue and Luis Guzman) who don't mind breaking the law as long as the price is right. However, this suave operator finds himself in big trouble when the man he recently swindled turns out to have been an accountant for the "King" (Dustin Hoffman), a very weird crime boss with a nasty disposition. When the two meet, the gangster manages to squeeze out a few drops of respect from the repentant upstart. Then he lays his cards on the table: King wants to join forces in swindling Morgan Price (Robert Forster), an immensely successful rival in the crime world who has made it big as a banker and money launderer.

Vig is a perfectionistic, and he is soon bugged by all the complications in this job. First, King insists that he take along one of his men, Lupus (Franky G), to keep an eye on things. Then Lily (Rachel Weisz), an attractive pickpocket he's hired, makes the mistake of dying her hair red, which signals bad luck. And, last but not least, Gunther Butan (Andy Garcia), a federal agent who has been tracking him for years, arrives on the scene.

Although Confidence is not as slick or entertaining as Ocean's Eleven, it does glide along smoothly with plenty of plot twists. After watching the character of Jake Vig unfold as he faces one challenge after another, we found ourselves wishing that all that ingeniuity, patience, and creativity could somehow be redirected. The great Indian mystic Sri Ramakrishna once said that if you meet a greedy person, congratulate him. If he or she can turn his greed to human welfare, it will be a tremendous motivating force. The greed will still be there but harnessed for good.