The Game (1997)

User Rating:

7.7/10   

Director:

David Fincher

Writers (WGA):

John D. Brancato (written by) &
Michael Ferris (written by)

Release Date:

12 September 1997 (USA)

Genre:

Action | Adventure | Mystery | Thriller

Tagline:

Players Wanted.

Plot:

Wealthy financier Nicholas Van Orton gets a strange birthday present from wayward brother Conrad: a live-action game that consumes his life.

Plot Keywords:

Kidnap | Cell Phone | Smoke Detector | Brother Brother Relationship | Hotel Room

Awards:

1 nomination

US TV Schedule:

Thur. Oct. 16	11:30 AM	USA
Wed. Oct. 22	11:30 AM	USA

Cast

Michael Douglas	...	Nicholas Van Orton
Sean Penn	...	Conrad Van Orton
Deborah Kara Unger	...	Christine
James Rebhorn	...	Jim Feingold
Peter Donat	...	Samuel Sutherland
Carroll Baker	...	Ilsa
Anna Katarina	...	Elizabeth
Armin Mueller-Stahl	...	Anson Baer
Charles Martinet	...	Nicholas' Father
Scott Hunter McGuire	...	Young Nicholas
Florentine Mocanu	...	Nicholas' Mother
Elizabeth Dennehy	...	Maria
Caroline Barclay	...	Maggie
Daniel Schorr	...	Himself
John Aprea	...	Power Executive

MPAA:

Rated R for language, and for some violence and sexuality.

Runtime:

128 min

Country:

USA

Language:

Cantonese | English | German

Colour:

Colour (Technicolor)

Aspect Ratio:

2.35 : 1

Sound Mix:

DTS | Dolby Digital | SDDS

Certification:

Argentina:13 | Peru:14 | Iceland:12 | USA:R (certificate #35106) | Finland:K-12 | Netherlands:16 | Spain:13 | Brazil:12 | Philippines:PG-13 | Australia:M | Canada:14 (Nova Scotia) | Canada:AA (Ontario) | Canada:G (Quebec) | Canada:PA (Manitoba) | Germany:12 (w) | Hong Kong:IIB | Ireland:15 | Mexico:B | Netherlands:12 | New Zealand:M | Norway:15 | Singapore:PG | South Korea:18 | Sweden:15 | UK:15

Filming Locations:

1 Bush Street, San Francisco, California, USA

Company:

Polygram Filmed Entertainment

Trivia:

Jodie Foster was originally going to star, but was dropped from what she viewed as a firm commitment from PolyGram (the same company her own production company, Egg Pictures, is affiliated with). She sued PolyGram. The case was settled before trial for an undisclosed amount.

Goofs:

Revealing mistakes: During the in-car shots in the sequence where Nicolas is being followed by the P.I., the speedometer of the BMW stays at zero.

Quotes:

New Member Ted: This was the best one *ever*!
Jim Feingold: [shakes Nicholas's hand] You know, thank God you jumped, because if you didn't, I was supposed to throw you off!

Movie Connections:

Referenced in The DiCaprio Code (2006)

Soundtrack:

Hollow

Great, but could have been better

David Fincher is almost always reliable to deliver some good thrills. Se7en is probably the best thriller I've ever seen, Panic Room is pretty exciting and I've heard a lot of good things about Fight Club. However, this one stands out, at least from Panic Room and Se7en, since pretty much nothing in this movie is what it seems. It keeps you on the edge of your seat for most of the action scenes, and it keeps you wondering, up until the very last minute, what the hell is going on. Then you find out. I'm not saying the ending was downright bad, but it could definitely have used some improvement. It could have been worse, but it could also have been so much better. The end just seems to ruin a lot of the buildup of the rest of the film. Anyway, the plot is very good, a man who has everything, but isn't completely satisfied with his life, gets a chance to have some "fun". He takes it, and his life is changed forever. The acting is all good. The characters are well-written and credible. Actually, everything but the ending is top notch. The ending is the one reason that this movie doesn't get, at least, a 9. It just ruins so much of the movie, especially because the moment the definite end of the movie is reached, it feels empty. Up until that moment, you feel like you were watching a work of art, and then just before it ends in the same way that the rest of it has been, it cuts to some lame excuse for everything that happened in the movie up to that point, rather than a good explanation. I really wish they had made the ending better. Overall, a pretty good thriller, that could have been a masterpiece. I recommend this to fans of Fincher's other work, and fans of psychological thrillers altogether. 8/10