The Game (1997)

The Game is a thriller directed by David Fincher. Fincher is best known for movies like The Social Network (2010), The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (2011), The Curious Case of Benjamin Button (2008), Se7en (1995), Zodiac (2007), Panic Room (2002), his most appreciated work - Fight Club (1999) and his least-appreciated-but-equally-deserving Alien 3 (1992) which, also happens to be his debut. Each movie way different than the other. He has also dabbled with TV, directing the first 2 episodes of Season 1 of House Of Cards.  Interesting. The movie is written by Micheal Ferris and John D. Brancato, who have previously written movies like Terminator 3, Terminator Salvation and a host of other movies, which I refuse to quote here. So basically, The Game is their best work.

Nicholas Van Ortan (Micheal Douglas) is a San Francisco based financier, who is not on the best terms with his brother, Conrad (Sean Penn),mostly due to Conrad's wayward lifestyle and his issues with Nicholas. He has an estranged relationship with his former wife, who still loves him, but is disturbed by Conrad's increasing emotional distance with him. Nicholas was never too excited about birthdays, being a self-confessed loner. But his 48th birthday is an all-the-more damper, because his father had jumped off the roof at that age. The surprise for him is when Conrad turns up on his birthday, trying to straighten things out with him. As a 'peace-offering', Conrad gives Nicholas a pass to a live-action game.

Micheal Douglas is best known for Disclosure (1994), Fatal Attraction (1987), Basic Instinct (1992) and for being (successfully) married to Catherine Zeta-Jones, who happens to be 25 years younger to him. Sean Penn is a name I needn't introduce. One must've seen him in Casualties of War (1989), Bad Boys (1983), U Turn (1999), All The King's Men (2006), The Interpreter (2005), Mystic River(2003), Milk (2008) and my favourite 21 Grams (2005).

A little known fact is that, Conrad's character was initially Nicholas' sister, which was supposed to be essayed by Jodie Foster, but it later ran a dead end. But it would've been interesting to see Foster and Douglas as siblings. Penn plays the wayward dark brother with finesse while Douglas, convincingly manages to pull of the reclusive affluent elder brother. Fincher has used unrealistic-seeming real locations for the movie. For Ex., his house was actually the historic Filoli Mansion, 25 miles south of San Francisco in Woodside, California.

Fincher has mainly dabbled with thrillers, as evident from the list above. What sets a Fincher apart from other thrillers is mainly the references to different movies that he makes in his movies. In The Game, The scene in which Nicholas wakes up in a coffin in Mexico is a tribute to Bring Me the Head of Alfredo Garcia (1974), in which, the protagonist Bennie is buried alive in a Mexican cemetery and must claw his way out of a shallow grave. Nicholas' kidnappers even re-dress him in the very same suit that Bennie wears through the duration of that film.

Why to Watch? David Fincher's direction always manages to get the best out of actors. Along with Sean Penn and Micheal Douglas, who are seasoned actors, Fincher manages to pull off a very convincing, edge-of-the-seat, taut thriller. Deborah Kara Unger is still as hot as she was in 1997.

I'm open to experience a live-action game someday, provided they agree to not kill me. And give me Deborah Kara Unger.