Hitchcock would be proud.

Rating: 10/10 (28 December 2009)

The best thrillers have two things: growing tension and an unpredictable plot. David Fincher's masterpiece has that, and something that few thrillers, even the best ones, have: the belief that anything can happen at any time. Quite frankly, this is one of the best suspense movies I have ever seen.
Nicholas Van Orton (Michael Douglas) is a millionaire who's life is perfect. He's fabulously wealthy, and although he's divorced, his ex-wife still calls him on his birthday. A day late, his deadbeat brother Conrad (Sean Penn) shows up and hands him a birthday present: an invitation to participate in a game offered by Consumer Recreation Services.
More than that, I cannot and will not say. Let me just say this: never let your guard down while watching this movie. Just when you think you know what's going to happen, or when you think Nick is safe (for the time being), the film pulls a fast one, and everything you thought you knew changed. It's a one-of-a-kind experience when a thriller is so skillfully put together that you can't rely on the thriller to stay on the traditional rhythm.
From an acting standpoint, the only performance that really matters is Michael Douglas; everyone else is strictly supporting. Douglas is a master at playing cold, hard, ruthless businessmen, and Nicholas Van Orton is right up his alley. Connections to Gordon Gekko are eerily similar, except that Nick is sympathetic, while Gekko was deliciously villainous. Support is ably provided by Sean Penn, and character actors Deborah Kara Unger and James Rebhorn. All are perfectly cast, although Sean Penn is especially interesting; we really believe that Conrad and Nick are brothers. The film's handling of the villain, Consumer Recreation Services, is brilliant. Faceless, non-speaking villains are difficult to pull off effectively, but when they work, they are frightening. We never know what to expect from CRS, or when.
The real star of "The Game," however, is David Fincher. With every film, the former music video director gets better every time. Although I liked "Seven," it doesn't hold a candle to this one. This is Hitchcock for the 90's. It is perfectly paced, and the suspense rarely lets up.
Don't miss it!