Director Dayna Hanson tackles a small-town sexual assault case with her new film Confession. Following a small-town district attorney named Jillian (Clark Backo) who takes up the cause, only to find her career and life in jeopardy as she slowly unravels a dark web of murder and intrigue that lies beneath the surface of the town. Collider can exclusively reveal the trailer for the film which sees the attorney and a veteran investigator (Michael Ironside) diving into the complex case only to find difficulties and danger in spades as they hope to serve justice.
Everything in the film stems from one fateful New Year's Eve party where a night of wild fun and drinks turns sinister. A woman named Alicia (Sarah Hay) leaves the party and runs to the nearby police station claiming three men assaulted her which immediately spurs an investigator to action. When the details of the case are laid out though, Alicia faces an all-too-common reality for these cases - the evidence isn't there to do anything. Everyone brushes it off except for the young district attorney who isn't willing to let the case die, and she joins the investigator in checking into the men. There's a repugnance to the guys behind the party, particularly Sterling Beaumon's character who confidently states everything is in order and "this happens all the time," though Jillian isn't convinced of their innocence.
As the search continues, Confession appears to get darker and darker as bodies start showing up. Moreover, it seems the guys who attacked Alicia are no strangers to this kind of heinous act, having previously assaulted another girl who never came forward. Whether through some sort of influence in the town or careful planning and intimidation, these men have gotten away with terrorizing women and any that get in their way for years. Thanks to the statute of limitations, those women who finally decide to speak up are then shunned by the law, only further ruining the case. As frustration mounts and Jillian reaches her limit, the ending of the trailer teases that this case only ends with more violence.
Backo and Ironside Lead a Solid Cast in Confession
Backo takes the lead in Confession after proving herself as a regular on the beloved comedy Letterkenny and as one of the stars of the Charlie Day-led film, I Want You Back. Her star is on the rise as she next has The Changeling on the docket at Apple TV+. Ironside, meanwhile, has made a name as a prolific character actor from Starship Troopers to Top Gun and, more recently, the animated Harley Quinn series. The rest of the cast features Lost's Beaumon and Black Swan's Hay alongside Nolan Gerard Funk, Marsha Dietlein, and Aidan Kahn.
Confession also marks the first directorial effort for Hanson since 2017 when she served as one of 13 female directors selected for the short film collection 13 Chambers, and she also helmed an episode of HBO's Room 104 which starred Hay. Gregory Mulligan makes his debut as a writer under Hanson while Jordan Yale Levine, Jordan Beckerman, Michael J. Rothstein, Sarah Hay, and Todd Slater all produced.
Confession is due out on March 10. Check out the exclusive trailer below: