Mind and Body Games

"The Game"

Piecing together a jigsaw puzzle can be a fun activity to do by one's self.  All the pieces have to fit one way or the other to form something bigger.  After you dump all the fragments of cardboard out on the table the pile appears monstrous, overwhelming, and confusing.  How are they all supposed connect to one another?  The idea behind a puzzle first and foremost should be enjoyment.  However, a puzzle can become frustrating to the point where you want to just give up.  You know you have to finish it though because in the end you can look back and have a feeling of accomplishment.  This is pretty much how I felt while watching David Fincher's The Game.

It's investment banker Nicholas Van Orton's (Michael Douglas) birthday.  A big house and fancy car are just some of the perks of being an incredibly successful business man living in San Francisco.  But what present would be fitting to get for the man who has everything?  Sure the man has his wealth, but where's all the fun and excitement in his life?  Conrad (Sean Penn,) Nicholas's brother, thinks he knows a way to cheer him up.  Conrad gives Nicholas the gift of Consumer Recreation Services (CRS.)  CRS is a company that tailors games to fit the specific needs of any individual.    While at their facilities, Nicholas is subjected to a bunch of physical and mental tests which are supposedly collecting data that will be used in his game.  But when will the game commence?  After a creepy clown doll shows up at his house and broadcasters on the nightly news start directly talking to him; that's how Nicholas knows his game has started.  From there our protagonist is put through a series of events, some that are even near death experiences. Soon the game starts to consume his life.  Is this really all part of the game designed by CRS? 

The Game came out after Fincher's Se7en but before Fight Club.  I have to say that I felt fairly pleased with this film.  It has none of the grotesqueness of Se7en or overrated hype of Fight Club.  Don't get me wrong, both are good films in their own right.  Given the choice though I think I would re-watch The Game before the two formally mentioned films.  The Game came off as being a decent psychological thriller.  For the first hour of the film the screenplay is confusing, misleading, and most of all puzzling.  All of this is intentional though because I want to be on the same knowledge level as Nicholas.  I want to feel everything that he is feeling.  Fincher and the screenwriters do a fine job of this.  

The plot has its twists and turns along the way which come off as somewhat unbelievable at times, but not as clichéd as I was expecting because at no point did I feel I knew more than Nicholas.  It certainly is a guessing game because paranoia begins to set in.  How much of what we are seeing is actually part of the game?  I liked that element of being overly suspicious of everything and everyone.  It subtly works its way into the picture.  This is a smart thriller that knows how to push its audience.  

I guess my main complaint would be the ending.  I wouldn't characterize it as being problematic.  That seems too harsh.  Improbable is more like it.  I'm not going to fault the film for that though.  The Game is such a tangled web of deceit that even though it is overreaching its boundaries, that level of extremity had to be obtained.  I accept the conclusion in all its craziness.

The immaculate production design by Jeffrey Beecroft and handsome photography by Harris Savides further accentuate the mood and tone of this film.  The Game is an intriguing and subtle psychological thriller that invites us to play along in game that is not what it appears to be.  This is a worthy entry in Fincher's career.  I think his direction is somewhat more restrained in this picture than his other works but that's because the screenplay doing most of the work.  The Game is a tense and exciting piece of cinema.  Jefferson Airplane’s White Rabbit is used in one scene during the film.  As the lyrics suggest, “Feed your head, feed your head,” and give your brain some stimulation with this above average thriller.