Hey! Apologies for only releasing one essay this month but I've been super busy planning some cool content for the latter stages of 2017 (including a 24hr live stream for charity!). I'd love it if you could all hit the like button. It helps the channel grow! I'd also love to thank you all for the reception to my DOOM video. 240,000 views is insane for me and this little hub of content I've created. You guys and gals mean the world to me!
When watching the movie I actually felt for Nicholas, my interpretation of the game is it successfully changed his life for the better. Not only was he lonely but I got the feeling Nicholas was a extremely rich man, who just really cared himself, and his money. But as the game progressed I seen him actually started to express more diverse emotions, instead of constant superiority, he actually helped people, humility was forced upon, he was forced to very temporarily live a modest lifestyle, which I think gave him understanding to others live. The last scene is the only time I remember Nicholas genuinely happy. Just my interpretation It's interesting to read everyone's different views on different scenes and moments.
The game shows how a rich guy goes to become a more happy person. But where the game shines the brightest to me is its impact. I watch this movie in 90's and even now in 2022 just seeing this movie pop up I still vividly is invested in the plot, reveal and overall story. This movie shock me like not many have done ever since. It rattles your understanding. Of everything. It takes this seemingly super rich person - but him in real life game scenario - but you follow along emotional. First the game seems trivial, as Nicholas sees it too. Then it just evolve into a more harsher, dangerous set. Nicholas brother appear and tell them the game is actually out to kill you. The emotional journey that Nicolas makes along the way is the journey the viewer makes as well. We're attached from knowing Nicholas as we can them reconcile with the character as ourselves. We're stuck in a world of boredom and mundane tasks. The shows that everyone can shake that casket off and become a more "happy" individual. As well, the movie is like a dream-like masterclass of lucid perfection told like a fairytale. The cinematography is outstanding to the core. The flashbacks at start really digs in what kind of person Nicolas and his father was. We also get the picture this is one of richest person in the city.. and this miniscule "game" just takes this VIP person and twists their world entirely. Example. A dressed up clown lying at the same position as his father did when commuting suicide. The graffiti in the house. The TV host suddenly talking to him directly. All seems so endearing stunts. Bringing a billionaire down to normal-human level. Which frankly... I never ever seen after. And the soundtrack. oh my god. It's riddled with ominous tones from a piano.. feeling like something of a Twilight episode. But extremely smart. The other example. They actually showcase a elobrate way to fool someone of their movie. The game trick would probably work in real life too. Which is just beyond brilliant. Fool a rich person they are in a game and then steal their credit cards and bank information. Then send the sucker to a literal graveyard. When that happen in the movie. It's just extraordinary. Following Nicolas is just impossible no to do. We all want to know what will happen. And this is all before RU-vid. Smartphones. The idea of such a 'game' prank only is surpassed by "The Sting" in my book. The game - forever will It be in my memories.
The Game is a film that has stuck with me since I first saw it in ‘97. It’s one of the best films of the 90’s in my opinion. Thanks for the insightful review.
This fucking movie got me. I was so determined not to fall for the "you've really been robbed" angle, so determined to believe it really was just a game like they claimed right from the beginning, that I actually missed the twist at the end and fell into their trap. I believed he shot his brother and had actually committed suicide. For a short while I wasn't sure if the movie would get interesting, then somewhere around halfway through, when he starts seemingly getting harassed, I started to become invested (after all the first half is just a lonely man barely moving through his life, just going through the motions seemingly out of habit). But it's almost as if the writers knew someone like me wouldn't fall for the trick and built in a second twist to catch us off-guard and it worked and I'm not even mad that they got me. It was well-earned.
When I watched The Game, my attention was on Fincher's delight in playing with twists and turns and the uncertainty of the thriller genre, so thanks for highlighting an aspect I hadn't thought about as much. The reason I thought the viewer is put at an arm's length in regards to full sympathy for the protagonist is to get away with the sadistic game the company (and in turn Fincher as the director) is playing with him. To make him too likeable would mean disgust at how he is treated and especially how the ending plays out. If he wasn't a douchebag, his brother's motivation to submit him to this cruelty wouldn't resonate at all. That's important because the film itself more or less laughs the whole thing off at the end, although with a sarcastic/ironic wink, close to the tone of the depiction of the events in Fight Club.
Alexander Fogus Absolutely agree with you. Fincher's isolation of Nicholas allows for the game itself to flow without questions and, as it becomes more sadistic, the audience becomes even more engaged because there isn't an emotional connection to our protagonist. Good insight! Thanks for watching!
@@MrNerdista I know I'm 5 years late xD but I personnaly don't agree with you, you can empathize with a character, you can like them, but still recognize that they deserved to learn a lesson. At least that's how I see it, I was really invested in his character, and the fact that you quickly understand that he's a traumatized character immediatly creates sympathy towards him and you want to see him becoming better. Plus, until the end of the story, it isn't really a game anymore, you really think that Nicholas is the victim of a scam and that CRS was simply a cover to obtain all his personal datas and the danger seems real.
First time I watched it back in 2004.. it was a complete mindfuck. It’s a masterpiece. I wish I could relive that experience again for the first time. Very special movie.
@@defrance2728 that's so true because imo the movie can only really work when you watch it for the first time. It was intended by the writers i believe.
This is just my opinion, but I don't think that we identify with his loneliness. I think that we identify with him being treat like crap by the employees of CRS. Even if he is some sort of rich asshole, he doesn't really do anything to make us really hate him. He actually does the opposite. He might be a rich impatient guy who doesn't has much time to spend on his brother's "silly" gift. But he eventually makes up his mind, and decides to "waste" his time to do all the tests the CRS people want him to do. Most of his behavior is pretty normal. Who wouldn't get frustrated doing tests for hours, when you're told that it will take only two hours max. So, I feel like he didn't deserve the treatment he got (until the truth is revealed at the end), and that treatment is what I think that makes us identify with him. Not necessarily the loneliness. I mean anyone has ever been treated like shit in his life, and felt like he totally didn't deserve that treatment. Think about it like this. Imagine me slapping a random person on the street. You don't know both of us. Who do you side with? Besides that the real "game" is actually played with the audience IMO. The movie basically makes you believe that the main character lost his mind, and murdered his brother. So, he ends up attempting to kill himself by jumping off the building. You don't know who to trust, and who is in on it, and who isn't.
He's a little bit of a dick, but it's mostly what the job entails. He's constantly sent to let go people who are doing well for the company financially, but aren't hitting expectations. Always maximizing profits. Never really taking responsibility for what happens (the "waitress" gets fired because he gets short with her, but then doesn't step in to prevent her from being fired over an accident). It's understandable, I agree, many people would act the same way and barely anyone would blame them, but you can still find things to criticize and by the end of the movie he seems to have learned a valuable lesson about appreciating the people around him. Mostly because he thought he killed his brother, not only losing him but losing him because of his own direct actions, thereby forcing him to take responsibility even if he had good reason to feel panicked the way that he did.
His brother at the end says something like “you were becoming a real asshole I had to do something.” I don’t think the movie earned this line. I agree with you that they didn’t set him up to be that much of a jerk. Maybe that’s why this reviewer identified with the loneliness more than the let’s teach this rich prick a lesson.
These comments are indicative of what our society has turned into. Much acceptance and support for dismissive cancel culture and people who lack acceptance of others who don't fit a particularly high status deemed by society's superficial standards. He had absolutely no empathy before the game began..that's pretty much the definition of a world class A-hole in my book. Worst kind of person to be around ever. So the comment in my opinion by Conrad at the end was very well deserved.
The Game is a cracking movie! I have rewatched it far more than Fincher's other films. It plays nicely with the flimsy artifice of movies, reminding us all the time we are watching a movie about a guy, essentially, starring in his own movie...while also being an excellent homage to the paranoid thrillers of the 70s!
This film is more about alienation and repressed trauma. I did empathize with his character due to his intense loneliness and his painful existence...even as a wealthy, arrogant man. In the era of COVID-19, I have little contact with anyone and that contact is work-related. I feel like I'm walking in between the raindrops.
@@hjhj742 Catharsis is the release of stress, pain, or trauma i.e. repressed emotions. Alienation and repressed trauma fuel catharsis. They're not mutually exclusive to each other. How are you misunderstanding this?
@@hjhj742 No, you're reasoning is mechanical. You don't get catharsis without pain, so saying the film is not about alienation and repressed trauma but about cathartic liberation is narrow.
I think you've totally nailed it - the first time I saw this film, what struck me most was the isolation and loneliness of Nicholas. Michael Douglas portrays this extremely well, but the visual cues are what make this - as so often in a Fincher movie - the mark of a master craftsman. Also, the backstory of the father - his 'presence in a room going unnoticed' - adds even more to the central theme of isolation/loneliness. Nicholas seemingly 'inherits' this behavior; while Connie, we are told, has had issues with drugs - possibly to self-medicate in order to avoid the same fate. But, every shot and detail is so marvelously expressive of Nicholas Van Orton's personality and the world he inhabits - at least, until forced into some kind of enlightenment. Thank you, for an excellent review.
Great analysis!!! Not many tackle 'The Game' but I think you nailed its themes: loneliness and isolation through material wealth. You could've pointed put in the end how Douglas' character tries to star a relationship with Unger's right after he kills his dependency on his family's richness... Thanx!!!
i just watched this movie for the first time an it had me on edge the whole time and angry as i have ever been watching a movie!!! how dare they do that to him!!!! even at the end when it was all relieved. i would have been so angry at everyone and it would have taken me deeper into my isolation and brought out more terror about the people in life!!! i would not have taken it as a new birth of my inner character. i would have killed everyone and shot them all, then myself in real life...GreaT MOVIEE for invoking such feelings and speeding my heart rate so fucking much!!!...
Completely agree here, Brandon. How did Conrad know his brother wouldn't be psychologically scarred for life at the end? I'm not sure I bought Nicholas's Scrooge-esque redemption, which happened to him almost immediately after surviving a suicide attempt.
When someone on another RU-vid channel pointed out that "The Game" was a retelling of "A Christmas Carol", with Nicholas Van Orton as Scrooge, here is how I responded to that: "Yes! Just like "A Christmas Carol", with the timeline and some of the characters put in a blender. We start out “home movie style” with a memory of Nicholas as a child at his birthday party (ghost of Christmas past), then proceed immediately to the present day where he meets brother Conrad for lunch (meeting nephew Fred Holloway who invites his uncle Scrooge to Christmas dinner), then a firing of Anson Baer (threatening to fire Bob Cratchit). The TV news anchorman explaining the rules of the Game (Jacob Marley). To me, Deborah Kara Unger, as Christine--or CHRISTine) could be seen as the ghost of Christmas present, Nicholas' guide through the Game, without letting him know she was in on the Game. The ghost of Christmas future (or ghost of Christmas yet-to-come) had its biggest moment with Scrooge seeing his own tombstone in the cemetery, and Nicholas woke up (after being drugged) in a graveyard in Mexico (start of the 3rd act in the film), with him falling from the skyscraper near the end (Scrooge falling into his own grave site--even though that was in Disney's animated "A Christmas Carol" and not in other versions I've seen) and landing on the airbag marked with an “X” (“X” marks the spot) a changed man (like Scrooge landing on his bed at home, waking up to Christmas morning and buying the Christmas meal for Cratchit's family and accepting his nephew Fred's invitation to Christmas dinner-Nicholas attending his birthday party with Anson Baer and his brother Conrad in attendance). By the end of the film, Michael Douglas' character has transformed from Scrooge to St. Nick!"
Be careful if you haven't seen the movie yet, I will discuss some important details of the plot, it would be a shame to spoil such a cool movie ;) I just watched this movie for the first time yesterday evening and it is easely one of my favorite movie alon with Jacobs Ladder and Blade Runner ! The plot is really captivating and you get caught in curiosity... The way this mysterious game is presented to us is so intriguing, and once I was in I was captivated by the story ! Ultimately, this movie is about living your life fully. Nicholas took everything for granted : his wealth, his brother, his life even. At the beginning of the story, he's entitled, ungrateful, arrogant, extremely self centered. He sees his brother as a junkie, and even suspicious when he invites him because he thinks Conrad wants to ask for money. He ignores his ex wife when she calls to announce she's pregnant and to make sure he's okay since he's reached the same age his dad was when he killed himself. But the more the story goes on, the more you can see him pushed to his limits and becoming more vulnerable ; he has to trust people and to rely on others to uncover the truth. When he thinks his house is getting robbed his first thought is to check on Ilsa, and even if he thinks poorly of his brother at the beginning, he cares for him. The scene where him and Conrad argue in the street is so good too, when Conrad blames him for "playing dad", which Nich replies "Did I ever had a choice ?", you can feel the heavy trauma, if that wasn't already obvious early on. I honestly really felt for him, he's a very touching character despite, or because, of his many flaws and weaknesses. When he shots Conrad and thinks he killed him, that's the first time in the movie you see him letting his emotions out and that hurt hard. He throws himself of the roof, the same way his father did and reborns as a new man. When he finally breaks down in the harms of his little brother, that was such a beautiful scene. He's learned his lesson, he's apologized for his behaviour, and more important : he values his life, because he thought he lost everything.
I watch this movie just looking at poster but man this movie is now one of my favorite Fincher movie and i love it and i never expect the ending like this
Great film! One of the 1st I saw by Mr. Fincher. It's been one of my favorites since back then. And I love that Satie-esque "Happy Birthday, Nicholas" tune by Howard Shore playing in the background at the start of the video.
Pretty awesome analysis, thank you for this. Much better than my efforts :). The Game is a film that I saw as a teenager and it never really captivated me until I saw it later in life. I think it might be Fincher's second best outing, behind "Zodiac".
I’ve always loved this movie and when I realized I just turned 48 (same age as Nicholas Van Ortan) I went looking for a clip. Thank you for articulating why I connected so much with this film. I never really … put the pieces together. 😉
I really enjoyed this movie. I watched it for the first time recently and was hooked in from the plot of the story. I do however wish there was more details about the ominous music played, vs the music played when his house as vadalized and more information about the symbolism within the movie. I mean the clown, the watch, the photos of the porn in his briefcase, them literally setting the stage for him to fall like his father in order to be reborn, or shed the father role he took on. I also, wished their could have been a prequel done after this, to explain what connie went through and what led him to share the experience with his brother. Overall this was a great review.
I noticed the music, too. During the latter half of the film, at least around the time he was in Mexico, even the brightest set pieces are given the most eerie tune in the form of what I believe to be off-tune piano notes. Just a weird press of a key here and there to set your nerves off and make you feel uncomfortable with any scene you're shown. Because you should be. He's being harassed and nearly killed constantly by a company of borderline insane actors, with no idea who to trust and what will happen next. Anyone he speaks to could be in on it and they could be planning something horrible. It was a very good choice to reflect that in the music, not allowing the audience to rest for even a moment, just as Michael Douglas' character can't.
Soundtrack was *masterful* . It's really dark eerie and perfect , In a rich minimalistic way not In an overt typical horror fashion. It really meshes well with the stylishly dark scenery of gloom , loneliness , and wealth. David Lynch always had that abstract darkness style.
Bloody love The Game. It might not be completely great, but it IS great. It is finely crafted and satisfying entertainment. And isn't all that you need occasionally?
NAHHHH MAN GET THE FUCK OUTTA HEREEEEE. This movie had my moods playing for 2 whole hours 😭😭💀 I fucking love David Fincher always with his twists, this and fight club were the best ones for sure
I have had this plot of the movie happen to me on lsd always ending in my suicide for release and this was prior to ever even knowing about the movie so I was mind blow how it parallels without even knowing about it.
I love this movie, besides for the ending the CRS is putting him through alienation, existential dread and psychological torture. i think it is a shame that the movie doesn`t go deeper into what CRS really is. Because throughout the movie CRS seems like a shadowy and evil organization, that could have connections in the global economic, politics, millitary, etc. Jet we get to learn that it`s just a "prank." At the end this feels out of place given the total mood and feeling of this film for the majority of it
I'm pretty sure it's a company who puts on a show from whomever buys their "act" per say on a specific individual of their choosing. The company does seem evil though and could drive someone crazy
the ending would've been perfect for me if they had ended the movie with nicholas' suicide. so then it would've all been a game, just like they had stated at first but because of the truma, nicholas shot his brother and that's it. the guilt triggered him to committee suicide and the end.
@@bhattasourish Thats what i was thinking as like an alternate ending. imagine his family and friends saw that he had actually killed himself instead of landing in that marked spot
Basically, CRS arrange for Van Orton to be the star of his own thriller. The film has that 'meta' level to it. We are watching a film within a film and the film gives us a few clues to this. CRM shows him a film reel (a film within a film) and we see the kids watching a puppet show in the super 8 opening sequence (ok, it's not a film, but the puppet show is artifice and for entertainment). The movie is great that way, because it's a movie paying homage to the great paranoid thrillers of the 70s by guys like Alan J Pakula, but it also plays with the idea of the artifice of movies. Fincher does this in Fight Club too, but he sraws more attention to it. The Game does a more subtle job of it, but it's still there.
With all the detail, I wonder why Conrad, his brother, had a blood stain on the back of his tux as if he was really shot and it went through his body. I think Fincher wants us to wonder at what point did the main character actually die. I think that it was Douglas' death when he jumped off the building. And the rest was "heaven".
Fantastic Anaylsis of an underrated gem of a film (one of my personal all time favourites). Dare I say, though not at the same wealth levels as NvO (the character), my life is - by my choice - the same. No, I'm not a douche bag, I'm respectful to most folks! Anyway, the main difference is, I knew what being poor was like (hungry and homeless serve as very painful reminders that I can never be broke again, no matter what). Otherwise, his character..... nailed on to mine.
am i the only one that thinks the game and vanilla sky are eerily similar in certain aspects.......also in the movie fight club the scene where brad pittt and edward norton's character are in the car together driving at full speed and Edward norton's character is scared out of mind reminds me of the scene in the game where michael douglas character gets trapped in the taxt going full speed into the ocean.....i can't remember exactly brad pitt's actual words/ dialogue in the scene but i think he told Edward norton's character something along the lines of "letting go of fear/embracing it" something of that nature either way the game, vanilla sky, and fight club have a lot of similarities
I love how the game makes colour break into his home periodically. First via the wooden clown and then culminating in the fluorescent graffiti all over his world. Suddenly colour is vomited all over his walls and he no longer feels at home there.
He didn’t seem lonely at all to me. To me it seemed like he didn’t need all the bullshit and he was smart so a lot of people would be annoying to him wanting a piece of him. I thought wish I could be his friend but he wouldn’t let me. He was able to do whatever he wanted he was in control. I like how they take away his control for sure and watch him crack.
I thought the ending was a real let down if detail is the focus. How was it predicted he would jump from THAT side of the building. How was it established he was fall through THAT piece of glass and NOT the girders between?
Because it’s ridiculous lol. I guess we’re just not supposed to take the movie super seriously. It works as a prank on the audience more than any coherent plot
Here’s is a theory. The protagonist died after jumping from the roof and the ending where everyone is there is just his last imaginable wishful thinking.
Here is a theory. The protagonist got robbed and died somewhere in Mexico. The rest (from the part that he gets out of the Mexican grave until the end) was his imagination. ;)
It would have made a more believable ending. I love this film, but I never liked the far-fetched, Hollywood ending. Your ending would have made this film more comparable to 'Brazil' and 'The Trial.'
I just watched it on netflix and im amazed. Guys, please recommend me some movie on the same style. I realy liked the Fight club aswell. anyways. Happy new year and thanks in advance.
Dude, nice analysis. But the music you added in the middle “juxtaposed” against the films dark backdrop was out of place and confusing to me. Something about the upbeats mixed with the chippy flute doesn’t work. Just sayin’…
I just can't get over the break in logic. If someone could explain the bullet holes etc . It's so intentionally put in the movie. The dude could of just been scared by loud blanks or normal "squibs" as Christine puts it but no. There are visible bullet holes and broken broken glass in the car doors. Unless they really shot at him the effects needed to put these off would clearly be visible thus ruining the game.
The whole thing is ridiculous. There are so many contingencies that just happen to fall exactly right -- you can see Fincher and his team squirming, like how the "analyst" says that he was supposed to throw him off the roof. Yeah, okay.
David Fincher regrets making this movie because of the third act. That just goes to show how high his standards are because this would be 99% of directors magnum opus.
This whole movie is a continuous plot hole. What if he decided to Jump from the other side of the building? What if he didnt manage to return to the US? What if he hadn't asked for christine's address? Why are there bullet holes on the car if they are not real bullets? What if he hadn't shot his brother, understanding that this is the game? What if he bought a real gun, instead of using the one in his house? It seems that CRS is composed by clairvoyants, not actors. So many scenes that could have happened in a different way, resulting in a possible death for someone.
I agree, the entirety of the film is set upon a precedent that he would always do something they could predict and they'd always be prepared for him, which is just completely unrealistic. Which is why you have to ignore that and just believe the lie. I enjoyed the film plenty by suspension of disbelief. You really can't otherwise. But that's fine. We do it all the time in movies. It's just a little different here because the fantastical element we're meant to believe isn't that there are spaceships that can turn you into yarn, like Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, but that there are companies that are so expertly adept at predicting humans that they can pull off an elaborate game like this without a hitch.
È già..a volte basta un " gioco"( innocente o macabro che sia,quando non mette in conto le conseguenze) per rivelare chi è l' uomo* ..poichè,chi s' ammanta del gioco stesso può usare l' inverosimile. ( Tanto è un gioco..per me,che male c' è?🤷) 🤔Se vuoi sapere la verità o le cose mai dette di una persona..dagli una " maschera" e si racconterà. " La verità non è attuabile,facilmente,sotto copertura,come una lettera anonima in cui non vedi sguardo e tremore,è piu facile raccontare cosa vorresti davvero. Buffo vero? Il gioco può sostituire l' ebrezza dell' alcol ,l' alterazione degli stupefacenti, per un astemio e un salutista. Questo vale nel bene e nel male. " La maschera per non guardarsi " ...era tutto un gioco,lucido e senza veli...mica ce l' avrei fatta! 🤔L' illusione di scherzare aiuta a dire il vero senza sentirne il peso e il coraggio di farlo o inconsapevole di farlo???🤔 Questo è il dilemma poichè è più facile estorcere o rivelare verità da una burla o pensando o incoraggiato a " scherzare" che,da una confessione vera e propria ..sentendosi sotto giudizio. Quanto influisce su di noi il giudizio altrui?
Rotten tomatoes is cancer. Critic reviews are so politically motivated it's sicking. They gave AOC's movie 100%. Guess what the user average is.Well it's not above 10% Not to mention other creepy films Netflix released. Kinda gives you an idea as to where the agenda started to kick off.
It's just politics as usual. This film is an expression of the typical contempt Hollywood has for Capitalists, painting their world as shallow, meaningless, greedy, empty and cruel and giving the audience a sadistic, voyeuristic thrill as the protagonist is driven mad by his own "cognitive dissonance" while he is forced to confront his own evil, do the right thing by attempting suicide, and only in so doing earn forgiveness, redemption and rebirth all thanks to the tough love dispensed by his smarter, more virtuous and more humanitarian tormentors. It's pandering to the Left. This is typical of Hollywood, but particularly true of movies featuring Sean Penn and Michael Douglas, both of whom evidently believe they are using their own holy enlightenment to save America from itself. The dramatic irony is that this exercise in projection unwittingly reveals the schadenfreude of a jealous, resentful and sanctimonious Hollywood culture that has no business lecturing America on matters of moral rectitude.
It's gimmicky. Like a Twilight Zone episode. I loved the movie, true. But it's so leading at every step! Lame really. Smoke and mirrors pretending to tell a real story!
The entire Movie is documentation of Nicholas’s walk with God. Nicholas is portrayed as a cold hearted man who won’t even give a homeless man a couple bucks regardless of him being a millionaire. It’s clear he does not associate with God. There is even a passage from the Bible said to him somewhere in the movie and he responds to it with, I haven’t been to Sunday School in a long time. Through out the movie Nicholas is constantly cut down time and time again because of CRS. CRS is representing God disciplining Nick for being so cold hearted and out of touch with normal people, his brother, his ex wife(not saying he should be in contact with her but still) and God. Gods discipline is shown throughout the movie with his money being taken, his power, his house, and pretty much his entire life. This is a representation on how God will take your stone cold heart and beat you down to almost nothing until you have a heart of flesh and life.
