The Game

There should be a warning on the promotional material for this movie that it is likely to induce paranoia and a disconnection from reality. At least that’s how I felt when I came out. This is one of those movies that seems somehow familiar (I was reminded of Scorceses’ ‘After Hours’ at times) yet manages to keep twisting the plot enough to keep you attentive, if a little disoriented, right to the end.

Michael Douglas is well cast as Nicholas Van Horton, reprising his usual character representing soulless corporate America, and well equipped to take the journey that unfolds for Van Horton as the result of a birthday gift from his younger brother Conrad (Sean Penn).

It’s not so much an emotional journey as there is little in the way of human relationships going on apart from between the two brothers and the connection with their fathers death many years earlier. It is however a journey of the soul for Van Horton, from the remote emotionless man who has everything, to the desperate paranoid man who has nothing, and somewhere along the way he discovers his humanity. As far as themes go this is nothing new, but who expects films like this to have depth anyway?

Most of the movie is spent trying to work out what’s going on. Sure we know it’s a game, but as the action roller coaster continues to throw you more twists than a DNA strand, the lines that separate the game from real life and death become increasingly blurred. It certainly took me a while to regain my grip on reality, and trust in people.

Visit the official Web site.