The Game

Nicholas is a world class pain in the neck. He's a millionaire, divorced, and lives by himself in "the biggest house on the street"  (a phrase he uses in the film to stress his importance and call attention to himself) which is his father's abandoned mansion. Think of Gordon Gekko from Wall Street, which should be easy since  Nicholas is played by Michael Douglas, and you'll get how much of a bad guy our main character is. At one point early on in the film, as it establishes his daily routine, he is shown eating breakfast standing up, perfectly still, while wearing a suit with his tie carefully slung over his shoulder so as not to stain it. The peculiarity of the image stuck with me. Nicholas seems robotic as he stands with perfect posture neatly consuming his breakfast. 


Director David Fincher seeks to portray him in the least humanistic way possible. He reinforces Michael Douglas's cold performance with an aloof and calculating style. Early on there are no handheld cameras or even significant movement of the camera. It just sits still at a distance mirroring Nicholas's rigidity, observing his perfectly controlled life. 

Into the equation comes Conrad (Sean Penn), Nicholas's brother, to shake things up. They meet for lunch. Conrad gets there significantly late, and upon arrival squirts water on his brother's face as a small practical joke. He then proceeds to make a quip about the jacket he was given to eat at the club's restaurant. Quite quickly, Conrad stands apart from his brother in every way possible. They haven't seen each other in two years, we are told, and yet Conrad waltzes into his brother's life as if nothing had happened and they had a healthy relationship. At first, I thought nothing of his demeanor, of his little jokes, but they actually turn out to be  significant for the film.

As a birthday gift, Conrad gives Nicholas a voucher for a game of some sort. What exactly is “the game” we don’t know, and neither does Nicholas. All his brother tells him is that it will surely change his life for the better. After clearly establishing this, director David Fincher has given himself a goal: to shock humanity into Nicholas, and fear into the audience, through his participation in “the game.” One of the pleasures of the film is slowly figuring out all of the pieces that go into “the game.” I will say one thing, though. The Game (the film) is a thriller, which becomes clearer as “the game” (within the film) unveils itself as increasingly macabre entertainment. One more note: Beware, this movie contains one of the scariest clowns in movie history.



 The level of commitment that went into this work is evident. Every piece of the puzzle (which is the main image of the opening credits) seemingly falls into place effortlessly, making the film go by in a heartbeat. From early on in his career, Fincher was an assured director. Part of what impresses me most about his films is the excellent pacing they display. None of his films are too long or slow, and I always find myself wishing they would last longer. Another of Fincher's strengths is his strong sense of visual composition. Often, Nicholas is framed by doors, archways, and people. Fincher shot the film so that the ceiling would be visible most of the time, making the audience feel trapped along with Nicholas in this bizarre game of which Fincher is in complete control. By the end, Fincher takes the story to its inevitable,cruel, logical conclusion and past it following perfectly twisted, perverse logic that I've come to expect from him. 



The score, I must briefly mention, by Howard Shore, is unnerving. It toys with the audience through its repetitiveness. The unassuming low-key piano set chills down my spine. The music rarely calls attention to itself, but its presence is felt.

Still, the great production value, high profile stars, great music and even a wonderful director can’t make a great film. The script should also be at the same level. Some of the choices Nicholas makes, such as participating in the game in the first place, simply don’t make a whole lot of sense. Plausibility is not the issue; this film is fantastically delirious, and I don’t want the films I watch to stay true to real life. The problem is that I don’t buy that the character we are introduced with at the start of the film would submit himself to such a ridiculous enterprise voluntarily. Look at The Game hard enough, think about it for a second longer than it asks for your attention, and the seams start to show, but while watching it, the movie  is an absorbing mind-bending experience.

Verdict- 3.5/4
The Game (1997) R 2h 9min.