American Lamo

Rating: 9/10 (15 March 2007)

Nicholas Van Orton has everything - health, wealth, a nice house, and a general satisfaction with life. Life hasn't been easy for Nicholas - his father committed suicide and his wife left him, but he manages to get through smoothly. Smoothly until his eccentric brother comes to town and gives him an unusual birthday present - a ticket to a game. Now, whether Nicholas wants to be involved or not is irrelevant, because the game is already playing him...
This film draws a strange parallel to Bret Easton Ellis's novel "American Psycho" and also the film version which came out in 2000. Ellis told the story of a man who has everything and wants more and more to the point of obsession. "The Game" tells the story of a man who has everything, but frankly doesn't give a damn. Work is work, who cares. Nicholas Van Orton goes through the motions in way much like the notorious Patrick Bateman - up in the morning promptly, off to work, meeting, gym, lunch, phone calls, drive home, dinner, etc... Like a robot on autopilot. Nicholas Van Orton is annoyed by the slightest deviation from his finely tuned routine so the viewer can really see how much "the Game" is a hell for him.
Cleverly devised and continuously diverting until the end, the story is a brilliant and though provoking look at the worth of endless wealth. You can't do everything like Bateman tries, but you also can't do nothing like Van Orton tries. You have to do something. So why don't you? Go out and play. --- 9/10
Rated R despite minimal violence and limited profanity