# Game, The (1997)

### reviewed by
Dan Kim

    "THE GAME"

    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               Lisa
    Anna Katarina               Elizabeth

    Director                    David Fincher

Note: This review contains spoilers at the end.

Watching "The Game" will fill one with quite a few thoughts and new concerns when they leave the theater. You will never want to misplace your keys again for one. Anyone suffering from clown-phobia will make extra effort to avoid circuses and Venice Beach street actors. You'll be wary of the next time a waiter or waitress accidentally spills something on you. These are merely three 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 an empty life of work and stock reports with little else going on outside of his office and country club. He's cold- hearted enough that he can 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 was also 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). His only personally link to humanity is a kindly old woman who happens to be his housekeeper for many years. Yet, throughout the movie, you realize that he is capable of occasional moments of kindness, a dry humor, and other interesting quirks. An interesting note; despite his riches, his ability to dine at exclusive restaurants for during lunch breaks, a membership at a posh country club, his dinners at home are simple fares of hamburger and fries, or deli sandwiches. Complex? Yeah. Are you following this so far?

Sean Penn brilliantly plays the seemingly 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 becomes a taboo topic during their lunch meeting. Conrad guarantees a life changing experience and Nick reluctantly agrees to 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. These tests take quite a bit longer that expected, which as expected annoys him, and even more frustrates him later to find out his test results didn't meet requirements. Not all is what it seems however, as oddities start popping up around him. One of the first being a waitress named Christine (Deborah Kara Unger) who "accidentally" spills wine on Nick. She unwillingly becomes a sidekick to Nick's upcoming 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 he can get an audience to side with someone who just blew off his kind ex-wife who called to wish him a happy birthday.

Master visual artist David Fincher takes viewers one a brain twisting, darkly toned, and often depressingly moody view of San Francisco, the city where Van Orton resides. Fincher, 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 the clues and hints as to what really is going on is multitudinous, 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. One certainly gets to know the character of Van Orton as the movie progresses. Unfortunately we're provided few ideas as to why Conrad is the way he is. We're also asked to assume why the two of them are estranged. Their relationship also isn't taken as far as it might have been.

Depending on how the Game struck you, the ending will either be fulfilling or a disappointment. Whichever it is, the viewers must decide for themselves.

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

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My view of the ending? I thought it was brilliant! Despite all the odd occurrences throughout and the overall fast pace of the film, I had little trouble keeping up with the goings on of the Game. The plot contorts itself and eventually tries to lead us to believe that CRS is little more than a highly skilled and organized group of con-artist after Nick's substantial wealth. I started to think Nick was financially ruined and has little to lose -- even his life -- when I realized that everything that was going on was in fact a Game. It was truly a life changing experience, as Conrad promised, and we see this change in Nick's attitude immediately. He finally shows some warmth towards both his wife and her new husband. He and his brother start acting like brothers, and the dead, cold look in his eyes prevalent throughout the movie is no longer there.

    (C) Dan-E :)

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