The Game (1997)

	Directed by: David Fincher	COUNTRY USA GENRE Thriller NORWEGIAN TITLE Spillet RUNNING TIME 128 minutes
	Produced by: Steve Golin Ceán Chaffin
	Written by: John Brancato Michael Ferris

Cast includes:
CHARACTER	ACTOR/ACTRESS	RATING
Nicholas Van Orton	Michael Douglas
Conrad Van Orton	Sean Penn
Christine/Claire	Deborah Unger
Jim Feingold	James Rebhorn
Samuel Sutherland	Peter Donat	½
Ilsa	Carroll Baker	½
Anson Baer	Armin Mueller-Stahl	½
Elizabeth	Anna Katarina	½
Solicitor/Taxi Driver	Tommy Flanagan	½

Review

Michael Douglas plays a wealthy investment banker whose dreary, uneventful life is turned upside down when his brother invites him to try a newfound game organized by a mysterious company. What does the game entail? And has it even started yet? David Fincher's much discussed and relatively hailed mystery-thriller is as intriguing as it is frustrating and manipulative. We follow Douglas around the city of San Francisco in what feels like a real-world computer game where you never know what the rules are or who you can trust. Fincher aims for a captivating, luxurious atmosphere filled with paranoia, but the story's unruly downward spiral is an exertion which the wildly elaborate and overly clever ending cannot quite balance – even if it does pose some interesting questions about appreciating life and contemplating death.

Re-reviewed: Copyright © 01.05.2023 Fredrik Gunerius Fevang
Original review: © 24.03.2000 Fredrik Gunerius Fevang