Review of House of Games (1987) by Sean P — 28 Dec 2017

That David Mamet is one of the greatest writers for the stage and film we've seen in the past 30 years is well known. But, in 1987, he was a playwright who dabbled in screenwriting and no one had seen him direct anything not on the stage. Thankfully, Mamet was so in demand that he could make a demand to direct his first film, which debuted 30 years ago this weekend. The movie is called House of Games and Mamet proved that not only was he a master of words, but he could direct the hell out of a movie.

House of Games stars Lindsey Crouse, Mamet's then wife, as Margaret Ford, a successful psychiatrist and author who is stuck in a rut. The success of her book has her longing for more excitement in her life, as returning to her routine of seeing patients holds little of anything new for her. Even when one of her patients, an inveterate gambler, pulls a gun and threatens to kill himself, Margaret seems non-plussed. She manages to get him to give her the gun, and then finds that he is on the verge of suicide over a debt he owes to a gambler. https://geeks.media/classic-movie-review-house-of-games?_ga=2.68012625.1126457623.1513947710-953607229.1513947710.