Game On

When I first made my top 100 movie list many years ago, it included three films directed by David Fincher: Seven, Fight Club, and The Game. As I've been remaking the list, I've been sure the first two would still easily qualify. But what about The Game? I decided to watch it again to figure out where to rank it.

If you've never seen The Game, I would honestly recommend that you just stop reading this review after this paragraph. It's a fun psychological thriller (with noir sensibilities) well worth recommending. And the less you know about it before you watch it, the more I think you'll enjoy it.

Alright, just us chickens? Okay then. There's plenty to say about The Game, but I think what jumps out at me first is that its largely a one character movie, and that character is a total asshole. Plenty of movies put you squarely in the perspective of a single character, leaving you as confused as he is. Memento is my favorite in this category, but you could excavate film history to at least North by Northwest and probably earlier than that to find plenty of examples. But in every case I can think of, the protagonist is a sympathetic victim that the audience roots to see survive the chaos.

Not so in The Game. At least, I don't think so. The lead character of The Game is a major type-A investment banker, the sort of man who would and could buy and sell everyone in the movie audience, and not care. And in this choice, the movie walks a careful tightrope. He's not exactly Ebenezer Scrooge; he is somewhat redeemed in spirit by the end of the story, but that's not really the point of the story. We're not exactly rooting to see him suffer, either; the corporation that's screwing him over in the story comes off even more evil. It's a challenging way to structure and tell a story.

And it probably wouldn't work at all without the perfect actor, who they found in Michael Douglas. In probably his most famous role (in Wall Street), Michael Douglas patented the way to portray an oily-but-entertaining character. But there, he wasn't the protagonist of the story. Here, a Gordon Gecko type is front-and-center, and it works brilliantly. Major kudos are due to Michael Douglas, not just for achieving this balance, but for essentially carrying the entire movie on his shoulders. Sure, there are other co-stars, most recognizably Sean Penn as his crazed brother. But none of the other characters appear in more than a handful of scenes, leaving Douglas to command the screen.

David Fincher brings a fantastic visual style to the piece. The film is stark, bleak, and dark, much like Seven, but still distinct. The photography magnifies the sense of paranoia and claustrophobia invoked by the plot, resulting in a taut and compelling film.

All that said, I found that after my recent viewing, I don't think The Game will quite crack my top 100 list. The acting is great, and the style exceptional, but I found the content a bit lacking on the second viewing. It is a "twist" movie, and there isn't any great discovery to be made in seeing it again when you know the outcome. (For the record, I had guessed the ending during my first viewing, and I think many others could too -- but the movie has just enough pervasive doubt in it that I think this doesn't detract from that initial experience.) On a second viewing, in the absence of any uncertainty, you're left to focus on the emotional journey instead. And as I noted earlier, the main character here isn't really sympathetic. There's no moral or comment on the human condition here; just a psychological head game. No matter how aesthetically pleasing it is (and it is), I feel like I need just a little something more to confer "Top 100 status."

So today, I'd rate The Game an A-. It's still a great film that I definitely recommend and that I enjoyed watching again. But I think I'd classify it as very good brain candy.