The Game

The Game
Viewed: 5/19/2011

   It has been over a week since I watched The Game, directed by David Fincher (Fight Club, The Social Network) and I knew as soon as it was over that I wanted to a review of it. However, I found that when I sat down to right it I had no idea what to say. It took me awhile but I eventually realized that if it left me speechless for this long, it must have been an absolutely incredible movie.
   The Game stars Michael Douglas; He plays Nicholas Van Orton, a wealthy financier who is surrounded by luxary and driven by routine. On his 48th birthday his brother (Sean Penn) bestows upon him a simple invitation to join a "club" known as C.R.S. (initially standing for Consumer Recreation Services). Membership to the club is shrouded behind a veil of secrecy that inhibits Nicholas from understanding anything except that each member plays a personalized game. Perhaps out of curiosity, or perhaps out of boredom, Nicholas applies and when his game begins it is more than he ever bargained for.
   The film's story is intriguing and the pacing and dialogue work together to entice the audiences' inquisitiveness: immediate scoffing of such an absurd organization, peaks in interest, uneasiness, terror, confusion, paranoia, and a desperation to unravel the mystery seize the audience and put them in the same situation as the main character. It's been awhile since a movie has made me jump at my own shadow, but The Game had me crawling out of my skin. It is chilling and maddeningly enslaving as your brain craves an answer to the insane tactics exploited by the cagey company. The film yanks you to the edge of your seat and leaves you dangling perilously until the very end. The actors play their roles very well, but it is the plot and the exceptional composing of the story that make The Game so exhilarating.
   The twisted ride of bewilderment and mistrust slams to an end with a closing sequence that is indescribably unexpected. A wave of emotion that included relief, perplexity, disbelief, awe, disappointment, bafflement, and reverence inundates the viewer and leaves them shaken and unsure of exactly how to process the events that have unfolded before them. It is literally either the most awesome or the most awful ending the story could have had. I'm leaning towards the former since I haven't been able to stop thinking about the film for the last week. Regardless of the absurdity of it all, The Game is a non-stop thriller that is engaging and enjoyable and should definitely be added to anyone's 'must-see' list.