THE GAME (1997)
A film by David Fincher
The Game is a tortuous and superb suspenseful thriller by David Fincher. The film leads the viewer down many uncertain paths, has we follow the nightmare world in which Michael Douglas' character is thrown into. Douglas is good as Nicholas Van Orton, a very wealthy businessman who has everything, except true happiness and excitement in his life. He lives alone in a large mansion, and is tended to by his trusty long-serving female maid. We soon learn his father committed suicide by jumping from the top of the mansion. Van Orton occasionally has flashbacks of the tragedy.
On his 48th birthday Nicholas is paid a visit by his younger brother Conrad, played by Sean Penn. Over dinner, Conrad gives Nicholas a gift, an invitation to visit Consumer Recreation Services (CRS) to enrol for The Game, an ambiguous life-altering event that Conrad says has changed his life. He tells Nicholas that it will make his life fun. Nicholas visits CRS and is greeted by James Rebhorn. He fills in a long application form, which asks him many obscure questions. He then has to endure more examining, a medical, and sitting through some bizarre images shown on a film.
The next day Nicholas receives a phone call to inform him he has failed the test for The Game; but unknowingly to him, The Game will now begin. Things immediately start to go wrong for him. His pen leaks ink on his shirt, and his briefcase won't open. While at a restaurant, he has wine spilled on him by a waitress named Christine (sexy Deborah Kara Unger) she is then fired by her boss, and Nicholas receives a note to follow her. While with her, he finds himself locked in a lift, has to run from a police dog, and has to jump from a fire escape into a garbage skip.
This is just the start of The Game for Nicholas. He will later find himself with incriminating photos and cocaine in his hotel room. He will find himself trapped in a taxi that is sinking. He will wake up in a flimsy wooden coffin in Mexico, with no money and identification on him. A man who was once powerful is now transformed into an emotional wreck. Eventually, he has to find the man who interviewed him for The Game, James Rebhorn. He enters CRS with a loaded pistol, and takes Christine hostage. The conclusion is slightly incredulous, but fittingly appropriate. The Game is a ride you'll want to take again.
Read The Game screenplay
"A high-toned mind-game of a movie." - Variety
"The weirdest 'Twilight Zone' movie never made." - The Independent
"Tasty, twisty, tantalising psycho thriller... full of surprise." - The Sun
"One of the most gripping thrillers of the year." - The Guardian
"Extremely stylish." - The Times
David Fincher made his directorial debut in 1992 with Alien 3. He then made the memorable thriller Seven in 1995, and after The Game he directed the brilliant Fight Club in 1999. In 2002 he made the thriller Panic Room. 2007 brings Zodiac.
SEVEN (1995)
This is a powerful thriller from David Fincher. Brad Pitt and Morgan Freeman are both on top form as a pair of differing cops. Pitt is the cocky young upstart, and Freeman is the pessimistic old dog on the verge of retirement, who just wants to retire quietly. But that will not be the case for him. A serial killer known as John Doe (a brilliantly cold performance by an uncredited Kevin Spacey) is murdering people in relation to the seven deadly sins. Some of these are shown to good effect, especially the victim who (mistakenly) appears to be dead. John Doe eventually turns himself in to the cops, and then the real mind games begin. The ending is a blistering one.
FIGHT CLUB (1999)
I am Jack's Fight Club movie review.
When I first saw this at the cinema I liked it, but didn't quite absorb it all. After watching it several more times on DVD, I have now discovered how good it really is. The opening trip through the brain is amazing. The film quickly gathers pace and never lets up, as we listen to Jack the narrator, played by Edward Norton. He describes his life has having all the material things: a nice condo, nice furniture - he doesn't have any monetary worries, but Jack needs something different to enliven his life.
After going to many health help groups to seek solace for his insomnia, he meets a bold character in Tyler Durden (played with relish by Brad Pitt), a soap salesman who becomes friendly with Jack. One night outside a bar, the two guys decide to have a fight, what the heck it's different they say. After this initial scrap, the two guys start their own underground fight club, and the membership expands rapidly. It seems there are many young men out there who want to fight. After some brutal fight scenes, Tyler starts Project Mayhem, whose purpose is to disrupt corporate buildings, and to generally cause mayhem.
The other pawn in the film is Marla Singer, played by Helena Bonham Carter, who sleeps with Tyler and annoys Jack. The distrust between Jack and Tyler finally erupts into a frenzied finale, has the surprising outcome is revealed. The film throbs with energy, style and an enigmatic spirit. After Seven and The Game, Fight Club reinforces David Fincher as a talented director.
I am Jack's The End.
Panic Room (2002)
This film is unlike David Fincher's previous three films; it's more of an 'entertainment' film. The premise of the film sounds like it would be difficult to keep an audience's attention for 112 minutes. A women and her daughter hiding in a secure room in her house from three intruders. But it never drags. After another unique opening credits display (names like signs on buildings), we see a recently divorced woman, Meg (Jodie Foster) and her daughter, Sarah (Kristen Stewart), being shown around a large house. There is a secure room in the house called a Panic Room, which has steel casing and many monitors. They move into the house and one night three burglars break in to recover something valuable from the Panic Room. But before the intruders can get to the room Meg and Sarah lock themselves in there. The rest of the film follows the struggle for the villains to get inside. Burnham (Forest Whittaker) is the quiet guy who doesn't want anybody hurt, whereas Junior (Jared Leto) and his associate Raoul (Dwight Yoakam) are the frenzied psychotic pair. The sophisticated camerawork is evident at times. Some parts of the film are incredulous. It's not as good as Fincher's previous three films but it's well acted and an entertaining thriller that is worth seeing.
Read The Panic Room screenplay
