Game, The (1997)

reviewed by
Dan E. Kim


Michael Douglas                 Nick Van Orton
Deborah Kara Unger              Christine
Sean Penn                       Conrad Van Orton
James Rebhorn                   Jim Feingold
Armin Mueller-Stahl             Anson Baer
Carroll Baker                   Ilsa
Anna Katarina                   Elizabeth
Director                        David Fincher

Watching "The Game" will fill one with quite a few thoughts and new concerns when they leave the theater. You'll never want to misplace your keys again for one. Anyone suffering from clown-phobia will be especially leery of circuses and Venice Beach street actors. These are merely two of the many odd twists and turns people are asked to take in throughout the entire film.

"The Game," starring Michael Douglas, is a psychological thriller in every sense of the word. It starts off letting everyone know a little bit about financial baron Nicholas Van Orton, a businessman with a knack for making millions but little else. It's almost Gordon Gecko revisited. He lives and empty life with little outside of his office and country club. He's so cold- hearted that he can so brutally fire the head of a publishing company who also happens to be a former best friend of his father without batting an eye; his father also being a successful businessman who inexplicably committed suicide by jumping off the roof of his estate. He alienates his ex-wife who is also the mother of his child, he has a brother whom he hasn't seen or spoken to in years (more on that later). When he goes home (which is the largest house on the street), he's welcomed by his loyal maid who apparently has been with the family for many years way back to when his fater was still alive. An odd, unexplained quirk; someone as rich as Nick(worth $600 million), residing in a large beautiful house, owning a counrty club membership, driving a top-of-the-line BMW (750iL) with an ability to dine at restaurants reserved for the socially elite; when eating in, he dines on relatively simple fare of hamburger and fries, or a deli sandwich with veggies. Are you following this so far?

Sean Penn brilliantly plays the mentally disturbed brother Conrad. true Penn-ophiles might be disappointed to know he is limited to only three scenes, but what little screen time he's given is used to the utmost max. He first arrives on the scene on to wish Nick a happy 48th birthday and give him a card for a company called "Consumer Recreation Services," or CRS. Incidentally, their father committed suicide on his 48th birthday and this topic become a taboo topic during their lunch meeting. Conrad guarantees a life changing experience and Nick reluctantly agrees to it. So the game begins. Or does it.

Nick meets up with a rather creepy CRS sales associate Jim Feingold. Upon agreeing to it, he undergoes a battery of physical, intellectual, and psychological tests to see if he qualifies to play the game. Following the game we come across an attractive waitress named Christine (Deborah Kara Unger) who becomes a seemingly unwilling sidekick to Nick's upcoming emotional mayhem.

The movie is expertly cast, with Douglas being the perfect choice to play the icy and arrogant Van Orton. Few others can play such a character with enough flair, charm and self-deprecating humor to the point that an audience starts rooting for someone who just blew off his kind ex-wife who called to wish him a happy birthday.

Master visual artist David Fincher takes viewers on a brain twisting, darkly toned, and often depressingly moody view of San Francisco, the city where Van Orton resides. Fincher, a relative newbie to Hollywood who last thrilled and disturbed us in the brilliantly gut- wrenching "Seven," takes us on yet another visual stunner of paranoia and confusion. He has a Hitchcock-ish eye for setting the mood and tone of movies by knowing exactly how much tension and suspense to use without going so far as to completely alienate the audience. It helps to take your brain with you when you go to see "The Game" since there are a myriad of clues and hints as to what really is going on, though nothing will prepare you for the ending of the movie. More on THAT later.

This movie isn't perfect, however. The otherwise well written plot is so full of twists and turns that it's easy to not notice the artful eye stimulation Fincher provides throughout the film. (Editorial note: it's this very style that, in my humble opinion, kept Alien3 from being a total disaster). Character development is enough for some, not enough for others. We get to know Nick somewhat but we're provided few ideas as to why Conrad is the way he is. Their relationship also isn't taken as far as it might have been. Lastly, depending on how the Game strikes you, the ending will either be fulfilling or a disappointment. Whichever it is, the viewers must decide for themselves. Without revealing anything about the ending, there is the obvious and unfortunate Hollywood-influenced ending that almost orders on overdone.

The first hour and half however, is a definite can't miss.


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