Michael Douglas plays Nicholas van Orton, a powerful businessman who lives alone in a huge family mansion. Flashbacks show us his stiff, humorless father, who took his life at age 48. Today is Nicholas' 48th birthday, and we see him conduct his affairs with a cold efficiency. The flashbacks show that he is comparing his empty life with that of his father. Could he succumb to the same fate? Conrad, his not-so-stable brother (an easy role for Sean Penn) begs a lunch date, and then offers his birthday present: an "experience," bought and paid for from a cryptic company named Creative Recreational Services. "It will change your life," Connie promises. Skeptical, Nicholas drops by their offices, where he meets a Mr. Feingold (James Rebhorn, who was the CIA guy fired in ID4). Feingold, a very un-slick salesman, explains CRS as an "experience-of-the-month" club. After completing a battery of medical and psychological tests, Nicholas is told only that his game will start soon. And an eerie start it is. That night at home, TV newsman Daniel Schorr departs from his copy to engage Nicholas in a conversation..from the TV screen! The next day, Nicholas has a few unaccountable mishaps, and when he gets a waitress fired for spilling a drink on him, he gets a message saying "Don't let her get away!" And we're off.
An ambulance, a stalled elevator, and broken fire escape make for a harrowing night on the town. Next day, Connie shows up, paranoid about CRS, and then he disappears into the night. Stranded when his car breaks down, Nicholas takes a cab, whose driver plunges the car into the bay. It's getting a little rough. Reality is sliding, and Nicholas' only clues are the ubiquitous CRS initials that keep popping up.
This movie's setup seemed like a good idea, and the first half went pretty well. Once the real action started, however, it was impossible for director David Fincher to keep the illusion going. The incidents were too free-form to have been staged, and there were instances when someone playing for real could have killed someone. Nicholas was given an 800 number that would let him call off the game, but he never even considers using it. One elaborate break-in at his house could not have been pulled off without the complicity of the housekeeper, but early scenes showed that Nicholas was not the sort of employer to forgive such a betrayal. In fact, he was way too reserved to fill out that psychological questionnaire in the first place.
There is one clever scene that takes place in a cafeteria, but it is canceled out by an ending that would offend fans of the TV show, Dallas. Michael Douglas does a good job with his part, and other character actors fill in ably, but implausibility renders this effort stillborn.
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