John, chapter nine, verse twenty-five

Rating: 10/10 (16 May 2005)

"The Game," much like "Se7en," "Fight Club," and "Panic Room," is both an extraordinarily well-crafted and extremely thought-provoking movie. Like "Se7en" and "Fight Club," "The Game" contains a shocking twist near the end that forces you to reevaluate the entire movie. Many viewers don't like the twist (as can be seen from some of the comments here), contending that it makes the whole film a waste of time. They may have a point, but I can't say I agree with them. In a way, "The Game" is a descendant of "The Wizard of Oz" and "A Christmas Carol" in that what happens is essentially a dream that is still important though none of it really "happened," because of how the dream affects the main character.
"The Game" began life as a spec script that reputedly floated around Hollywood for years, well-respected as a piece of work but considered unfilmable. Enter David Fincher, who has made a career of filming the difficult, the outrageous, and the provocative.
Michael Douglas gives a brilliant performance as Nicholas Van Orton. In a way, this seems to be the role he was born to play. Only Gordon Gekko rivals this character in Douglas's career. Part of the problem with Douglas is that you tend to get the same performance, the same persona every time out, and Nicholas is almost type-casting. But this movie asks Douglas to go a little farther than I've ever seen him go. He finds real levels of panic and desperation in his performance here that are fascinating coming from such a normally controlled actor.
This movie is basically about the humiliation and degradation of Nicholas Van Orton, breaking him down and stripping him to nothing in order that he can build again from a solid foundation. As a result, although the movie for the most part plays very seriously as a tense thriller, on repeat viewings one can perceive a wicked streak of black humor running through almost every scene. Many of Douglas's moments in the film are extremely, though subtly, humorous -- such as when he's talking to the two "new members" at his club about the game; he perfectly conveys both the fear of embarrassment and secret interest that Nicholas is feeling. Or the look on his face as the runaway taxi is about to crash into the bay (with him in it), or when machine gun fire suddenly rakes the window behind him at "Christine's" apartment.
The things CRS does to Nicholas are both hilarious and disturbing. He is very much a Scrooge character at the beginning of the movie -- cold and isolated, mean and unhappy. One set piece after another humiliates, unnerves, and ultimately terrifies him, until he has no control left over what used to be his life, and finally he can take action with no thought for consequences.
Perhaps what is most disappointing about the ending for many viewers is that Nicholas ultimately "loses" the game -- CRS drives him to commit suicide (or so he believes), and he only survives because they have arranged for him to survive. In a strong parallel to "Se7en," the protagonists in both movies remain at the mercy of their antagonists (John Doe and CRS) until the bitter end, after the point at which, in an ordinary Hollywood movie, they would have successfully fought back and regained control. Ultimately, what CRS does to Nicholas is destroy his life, take everything from him, make him think he killed his own brother, and then -- give it all back to him. In the process, he does learn to be more engaged, learns that money is not what really matters in life.
It's a hard movie to get a handle on, and that's what I love about it. One aspect I'm not crazy about is that only a very rich person could afford the "benefits" of the game. But maybe a less expensive "game" could be tailored for a less wealthy person. And besides, part of the point seems to be that Nicholas was such a jerk at the beginning, he deserved to be treated this way. And maybe all wealthy corporate titans like Nicholas deserve to find out what it's like to lose everything.
As usual, in this movie Fincher moves the camera (and the objects and people being filmed) with the grace and kinetic energy of the young Spielberg, composes the frame with the beauty and attention to detail of Kubrick, and stages action and generates gut-wrenching suspense like Jimmy Cameron. Fincher's movies are always pervaded with a deep, penetrating intelligence. Everything here is thought out to the finest detail, and all aspects of the production, from sets to costumes to music to (of course) cinematography and editing are flawless. The supporting performances (and everyone here other than Douglas is really in a supporting role) are all outstanding.