Review of The Game (1997) by Joseph O — 11 Nov 2016

Nicholas Van Orton (Michael Douglas) is a wealthy man whose father in his late forties committed suicide; and with Nick approaching that age, his brother Conrad (Sean Penn) decides to give him a very special birthday present. The best way I can describe it is that it's an interactive game/experience. Nick grows increasingly suspicious and paranoid about the 'game', however, and tries to find out what Conrad might have gotten them both into.

David Fincher directing this movie was one of the reasons why I was looking forward to seeing this movie, as he has made some technically impressive films in the past that often have incredibly engaging stories, such as "Fight Club" and "Zodiac". Even with his weaker effort, "Alien 3", I still felt that there was enough intrigue in some performances to save the film from being terrible. As I kept on watching "The Game", I felt fascinated by a story that got better and better as it went along for about 80-90% of the movie; and Fincher's direction and the cinematography really helped make the movie have an eerie tone.

The performances are overall very convincing. I haven't really seen enough films with Douglas or Penn, but I did buy them as estranged brothers who ultimately want the best for the other. The scene where they're at the car, in particular, was very well acted. All of the supporting cast members did a good job, also. Almost all of them had unnerving scenes where Nick is trying to find out more about the game, but they really give him a tough time doing so, as they seem to be different people in different scenes.

*Spoilers below*.

I felt a sense of dread when I saw the events of the story unfold and learned more about what Conrad might have done to Nick, which, for me, in the end let me down. The film continues through its last forty minutes or so with non-stop suspenseful incidents that happen to Nick until he accidentally shoots Conrad, thinking he was leading a group of attackers. This causes Nick to jump off a building, and he falls through a glass roof unto an inflatable castle or something like that, and he finds out that all the bad stuff that had happened to him, including him shooting Conrad, had been planned from the start. This made me really mad at Conrad and his accomplices because even though they supposedly examined Nick's mind at a medical center for a day to examine what actions he would take in different circumstances, I end up finding out that they had been acting very unethically. There are just too many hazards and potential accidents and tragedies that could have happened because of what they were trying to do to Nick just to give him a fricking T-shirt for his birthday. It's way too convenient that it turned out alright in the end.

*End of spoilers*.

"The Game" started out with real promise, but the ending felt incredibly anti-climactic. This is a real shame, especially considering how the acting and storytelling were very well-done and I was very tense for much of the movie. I will say though, that I hope in the future, if someone tries to remake this film, the movie has a less irritating and convenient ending.

6/10.