This movie was recommend by Ashley from Box Office Buzz as part of my Anniversary Celebration 5.
Synopsis
Nicholas Van Orton (Michael Douglas) is a wealthy banker who spends most of his time engulfed in his work. For his birthday, Nicholas’ brother, Conrad (Sean Penn), invites him to join a mysterious game. Soon, Nicholas is unable to distinguish what is the game and what is real.
Review
Right out the gate, director David Fincher lets us know what kind of character Nicholas Van Orton (Michael Douglas) is. He’s detached and insensitive to the people around him. Enter Nicholas’ brother, Conrad (Sean Penn) who knows just what to do to bring him back to reality: a game tailored specifically for Nicholas. However, the reality is, Nicholas doesn’t know what to believe once the game begins, and neither does the audience. Throughout the film, you will find yourself questioning what is part of the game and what isn’t; who is involved and who isn’t. The score is pretty minimalistic. Most of the time, the score consists mainly of piano. The heavy piano score and the audience being just as in the dark as Nicholas about the titular game combine to create a very suspenseful atmosphere. Even when the ending came, I wasn’t sure whether or not to believe it. Of course, it doesn’t help that there are several instances when you think it’s over then that was revealed to not be the ending and continue on.
As thrilling as it was, it took me a little while to get into the film. It wasn’t until I truly didn’t know what to believe did I become interested in seeing how the story played out. Normally when you have a jerk of a character whose arc ends with some sort of redemption, they at the very least have some characteristic or trait that you can latch on to to want to see them succeed. I didn’t find that connection with Nicholas, so I didn’t have much of a reason to care. Michael Douglas does a fantastic job with the role, there’s no doubt about that, but when it takes me halfway through the movie to get invested in the character, that’s too long to me.
I thought The Game was OK 😐 Atmospherically, this movie is a great suspense film. Fincher creatively breaks down Nicholas’ world that keeps you in suspense. Unfortunately, it took too long for me to feel invested in the main character, and even then it was mostly “well, I’m already this far. Might as well see it through.”
Trailer
Cast & Crew
David Fincher – Director
John Brancato – Writer
Michael Ferris – Writer
Howard Shore – Composer
Michael Douglas – Nicholas Van Orton
Sean Penn – Conrad
Deborah Kara Unger – Christine
James Rebhorn – Jim Feingold
Peter Donat – Samuel Sutherland
Carroll Baker – Ilsa
Anna Katarina – Elizabeth
Armin Mueller-Stahl – Anson Baer
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