HOUSE OF GAMES
A film review by Mark R. Leeper
Copyright 1987 Mark R. Leeper
Capsule review: Psychiatrist, disenchanted with her
efficacy, gets involved in an adventure of sorts. See the
film before you read too many reviews; this is a difficult
film not to spoil in the reviewing, but it is a really good
script by David Mamet who earlier this year did THE
UNTOUCHABLES. Rating: +2.
David Mamet is becoming a name to conjure with. I first noticed him about a decade ago when he had a play on Broadway called THE WATER ENGINE. That play, set in 1939, wove together chain letters, the World's Fair, and the great American paranoia myth that the auto companies have an engine that runs on water, but they've hushed it up. Much more recently Mamet wrote THE UNTOUCHABLES, an enjoyable screenplay unencumbered by concern for historical accuracy. HOUSE OF GAMES has a Mamet screenplay and Mamet also debuts as director.
Lindsay Crouse plays Margaret Ford, a successful psychiatrist. Dr. Ford has doubts that she really can help any of her patients. Against the cautious rules of psychiatry she gets involved in the personal life of one of her patients and, in doing so, meets Mike (played by Joe Mantegna). That is not saying much about the plot and my personal recommendation is to stay away from any reviewer who is going to tell you any more about the plot than that. If you really want to know more about the plot to know if you will like the film, take my word for it, you will probably like HOUSE OF GAMES. It has humor, it has suspense, and it had the audience spellbound.
My biggest complaint with HOUSE OF GAMES is that even when the final credits roll, the audience is still waiting for the other shoe to fall. No matter how many shoes fall in a film like this, you still expect that there will be another one and another one. And what further creates that feeling is that HOUSE OF GAMES is so entertaining, it seems like a much shorter film than it really is. Perhaps a plot twist or two predictable. Lindsay Crouse's acting is a little wooden. But Joe Mantegna is mesmerizing on the screen. His is apiece of nearly perfect casting. Siskel and Ebert both admitted to talking to the screen when they saw this film. I'm glad I didn't see it with them, but I do remember grinning at the screen a few times. I rate HOUSE OF GAMES a +2 on the -4 to +4 scale.
Mark R. Leeper
ihnp4!mtgzz!leeper
mtgzz!leeper@rutgers.rutgers.edu
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