THE GAME (1997) A Film Review by Ted Prigge Copyright 1997 Ted Prigge
Director: David Fincher Writers: John D. Brancato and Michael Ferris (with a re-write by Andrew Kevin Walker) Starring: Michael Douglas, Sean Penn, Deborah Kara Unger, James Rebhorn, Armin Mueller-Stahl
There's a scene late in "The Game" where the protagonist suffers what is probably the most kafkaesque, surreal, and literally breath-taking sight. I'm not going to go out and say what it is, because, well, I want you to see this movie, but when I saw it, even I felt as alienated and paranoid as the protagonist. This is the skill that David Fincher has: to pull us into the movie so much, that we're as scared and thrilled as the protagonist. So basically, this is the most thrilling thriller in a long while. Well, since "Se7en."
Nicholas Van Orten (Michael Douglas) is a millionaire entropeneur-type who owns a big company, a giant mansion his dad gave to him, and a new ex-wife. It's his 48th birthday, and he's more miserable than usual since that was the birthday when his father killed himself by throwing himself off the very roof under which he lives. He's a control freak, but more of a calmed-down one, instead of a frantic Steve Buscemi-ite, who calmly yet with a sense of fatigue, works in his giant yet claustrophobic office, and even has to be told by his secretary that "Rachel on line 2" is his ex-wife.
That day, he also gets a visit from his black sheep brother (Sean Penn, originally Jodie Foster, whom I can't picture at all in this) who gives him his birthday present: "The Game." It's something from a company called "CRS" (forget the breakdown of this ackronym) that is meant to relax rich people or something. Nicholas is reluctant but eventually goes to their offices, has a little chat with one of their heads (James Rebhorn, finally getting a farily meaty role after all these years), and is launched into an hour of bizarre exercises.
We, like him, have no clue what this game is about or the purpose or anything about it. They say it will come to him, and it eventually does. Weird things begin happening to him - i.e. he finds a clown draped across the front of his house, dressed like his dad; his television starts talking to him; and he gets a note telling him he must follow some waitress he accidentally got fired from an elite restaurant (Deborah Kara Unger, from "Crash").
The events start out like little pranks, but they soon become eery and dangerous. More and more bizarre things begin happening to him, and he soon becomes incredibly paranoid, as do we. We go through everything he does, mainly because we get to know the character so well that he soon becomes like one of those Hitchcock everybodies: a flawed human being who plumets into a world of intrigue and surrealism. Soon, Nicholas is fighting an unknown assailant, trying to find the purpose of the game, and trying to get out of it before anything worse happens.
By the time the film's over, we're as ragged as Nicholas. We're with him, praying for an explanation for what he and we have been through. And the ending would be a huge let-down if it weren't for the great direction, which finishes up masterfully.
David Fincher is quickly becoming one of the better directors around. With his underrated "Se7en" behind him (not to mention the very underrated "Alien 3"), he has proven that he can combine great style with substance. While "Alien 3" was just pure atmospheric fun, "Se7en" had a satirical message, and "The Game" manages to try and fill in the gaps of what's missing in the life of the modern-day Ebenezer Scrooge.
He's also obviously very influenced by Hitchcock. As I said, the Nicholas character is a pure Hitchcock character, but that's not where it ends. We also get a kind of bleak and gritty version of one of his movies, some straight-out homages, and the strong sense of message Hitchcock was so flawless at attaining. I mean, all that's missing is a walk-on by Mr. Fincher. We even get scenes that are near duplicates of some of his work, as well as some of the themes. There are two scenes straight out of "North by Northwest," there's a touch of "Vertigo at the end," and there's probably even more if I went back and disected more carefully.
But not only is this a kind of tip-of-the-hat to Hitchcock, but it's got Kafka written all over it. Nicholas is alienated, and is absolutely alone at more than one point in the film. And as the film goes on, he gets more and more paranoid. This kind of twisted horror view of the world is exactly what Kafka wrote about, and this film is basically modern-day Kafka.
As far as acting goes, Michael Douglas gives the best performance he has in years, presenting a very flawed yet very likable man. He's easy to sympathize with, and you can just see him getting more and more crazy as the film goes on. He's in almost all of the scenes (okay, so he's in all of them), and most of the actors are pretty much cameos or short walk-ons.
Sean Penn, in fact, is almost a cameo. He has about three scenes in the film, but he uses them nicely. He's very slimey (he's the black sheep brother, remember?) and at one point is incredibly nervous. He does a much better job than Jodie would have (even though Jodie probably could have pulled it off, since she's one of the best actresses in the world).
Also, Deborah Kara Unger (who I had yet to see act) is amazing in this, and should be picked up for more cool movies in the future. She has a very naturalistic style to her acting, making the lines seem more down-to-earth than they would be coming from the mouth of another actor. James Rebhorn (who was in such films as "Scent of a Woman" and "My Cousin Vinnie") is also very brief, but is excellent with what screen time he has. And Armin Mueller-Stahl is good in a very, very brief role.
The writing is ingenius. Yes, there are very agape plot holes, but they never seem too incredible at the time, but that's really due to the direction. But we get a leisurely written film, starting off slowly and letting us know the protagonist before everything hits the fan. The dialogue is witty and interesting, with some very funny lines that come naturally instead of force-fed.
And, of course, the direction is amazing. David Fincher combines engrossing visuals with depth; atmostphere with purpose. He brings things to such high tension that there were whole scenes where I literally held my breath until the big shock came. As I said, he is becoming one of the best directors around.
"The Game" is probably going to be written off as just a "very good thriller." But really, folks, thrillers this good do not come around every month or so. They're about as rare as a visit from the Comet Kahoutek. So appreciate this film, because we won't see a better thriller until the next David Fincher film.
MY RATING (out of 4): ***1/2
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