David Fincher’s ‘Criminally Unheralded’ Psychological Thriller Is Still a Hidden Gem 28 Years Later
David Fincher is one of the best and most critically acclaimed film directors. With movies such as Se7en, Fight Club, The Social Network, and Gone Girl under his belt, he has proven time and again that he can deliver some of the most gripping, thrilling, and mind-blowing films. David Fincher’s movies have a distinct, recognizable style that features desaturated colors, a gritty atmosphere, and memorable techniques that make every scene captivating. Most of his films also follow troubled, flawed characters, who are often struggling under pressure, with some of Fincher’s most memorable leads including Brad Pitt as David Mills in Se7en and Rooney Mara as Lisbeth Salander in The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. And another troubled main character who’s often overlooked in discussions of David Fincher movies is Nick Van Orton, the protagonist of 1997’s The Game.
The Game stars Michael Douglas as Nicholas “Nick” Van Orton, an investment banker who receives an unconventional birthday present that ultimately turns his life upside down. The film received good reviews, but it wasn’t the box-office hit that films like Se7en were, and it remains a hidden gem in David Fincher’s filmography. The Michael Douglas-led film is seemingly forgotten whenever people talk about movies with mind-blowing twists or about Fincher’s defining work. However, The Game is due for a reappraisal, as the 28-year-old film still holds up as one of the best thrillers of the ’90s, and as one of David Fincher’s best movies, with a memorable and shocking twist.
The Game Sets Up a Unique Concept
Image via Propaganda Films
Most of David Fincher’s films feature unique, original concepts, and 1997’s The Game is no exception. The film follows Nick Van Orton, a wealthy investment banker who doesn’t have time for nonsense, which seems to include his friends and family. Nick is all about work and making money, and doesn’t care about having fun or taking a day off.
Nick is not only cold but also mean and condescending to everyone he deems inferior. He doesn’t have a solid relationship with his younger brother and remains haunted by the death of his father. Nick is so opposed to having a personal life or taking a day off that he doesn’t seem to know how to relax or have fun.
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However, things take a turn when Nick’s brother, Conrad, shows up to give Nick a birthday present. The present turns out to be a voucher for a game design company, giving the film its title. Nick goes to the company, which runs multiple tests on him, but is shocked to learn that the company rejected his application.
Yet even though the company said they wouldn’t be proceeding with the game, strange things start to happen around Nick. He finds a creepy clown in front of his house. It brings back memories of Nick’s father taking his own life, and lying in front of his house, seemingly where the clown is now. And that’s not all.
Even stranger and scarier things start happening, including the TV reporter breaking character to talk directly to Nick. He realizes there’s a camera inside the clown, and that the game has started after all, even though he was rejected. However, what he believed would be a silly prank soon becomes far more dangerous.
The David Fincher Thriller Keeps the Tension Throughout
Image via Propaganda Films
The Game is an action thriller with a tense, suspenseful tone from the start. Even in the very first minutes of the film, before the game has started, the tone is ominous and gripping, giving audiences a sense of foreboding about what’s to come. And once the game starts, the tension continues throughout.
Many moments from the film can even be considered worthy of a horror movie, with a few jump scares and creepy scenes that could make The Game a psychological horror film. As the game takes hold of Nick’s life, everything around him seems to fall apart and shatter. He can’t trust anyone, not even his own brother.
Nick’s brother, Conrad, who was at first talking wonders about CSR, the company behind “the game,” now seems completely out of his mind as he tells Nick that CSR is a scam. However, Conrad later becomes paranoid and believes that Nick is working with CSR, so he decides to run away, leaving Nick behind.
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Everything goes horribly wrong for Nick, and he even teams up with a stranger, a waitress, only to find out that she was also part of the game all along. Nick’s life is on the line, but CSR is smarter. They eventually clean all of Nick’s accounts, and he believes he’s been scammed out of his money forever.
It all comes crashing down for Nick, who not only finds out he doesn’t have any money or even a home, but also that his brother has been institutionalized after a mental breakdown. Nick decides to visit his ex-wife to make amends and apologize, but gets sidetracked when he sees the CSR employee who interviewed him on TV.
The Game’s Shocking Twist Is One of Fincher’s Most Memorable
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The Game ramps up the tension, leading audiences to a shocking and memorable twist ending. As Nick feels he has nothing else to lose, he decides to break into the building where the CSR offices are and demands to see the person in charge. He even has a gun, which he uses to force Christine, the waitress, to help him.
This is where things get completely mind-blowing, as Christine sees Nick’s gun and becomes scared because it’s not one of their prop guns. She tells Nick that everything is part of the game, that his money is safe, and that all of his friends and family are waiting for him, but he doesn’t believe her.
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And at that moment, Conrad shows up with a bottle of champagne, but this only triggers Nick’s survival instincts, and he shoots, hitting Conrad. Shocked and heartbroken about what he has just done, Nick decides to take his own life, and in a moment that probably made almost every viewer gasp, Nick jumps from the building’s roof.
But the biggest twist of all is that everything was, in fact, a game. Nick falls through a window and into a perfectly positioned air cushion, and he realizes that he landed directly inside his birthday party, exactly as planned. Conrad is there, alive, and he reveals that everything was part of the game.
The twist ending was so shocking and mind-blowing that it became part of pop culture. The Simpsons even paid homage to the film in the episode “Eternal Moonshine of the Simpson Mind” from Season 19. In this episode, Homer falls off a bridge into a moon bounce at a surprise party, recreating The Game’s iconic ending.
Michael Douglas Leads Star-Studded Cast
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The Game is a unique and somewhat controversial film, with many who loved the ending and just as many who disliked it. However, there’s no denying that the film had a star-studded cast led by Michael Douglas as the reclusive, troubled Nick Van Orton, and it’s this cast that made it such a captivating thriller.
Michael Douglas perfectly captured Nick’s questionable qualities, such as his self-absorbed character and condescending way he treats others. At the same time, Douglas’ performance gave Nick vulnerability and heart, making audiences root for him. So when he breaks down, becomes paranoid, and later decides to jump off the roof, audiences care about what happens to him.
Alongside Michael Douglas, Sean Penn plays Nick’s brother, Conrad. Penn delivers a strong performance as Nick’s more carefree brother, the one who often gets into trouble that Nick later has to fix. But when Conrad confronts Nick as part of the game, their relationship becomes a bigger point of the film, in large part thanks to Penn’s performance.
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Deborah Kara Unger, best known for her roles in films like Payback, White Noise, and Silent Hill, plays the waitress who turns out to be part of CSR, Christine. Character actor James Rebhorn, who many might recognize for his roles in films such as My Cousin Vinny, Basic Instinct, and Independence Day, plays Jim, another CSR employee.
The Game is a David Fincher movie that’s often overlooked or underappreciated, even though its twist became so memorable it entered pop culture. Michael Douglas delivers an incredible performance in this film, and whether people like or dislike the ending, there’s no denying it’s one of the most unpredictable and shocking of all.
Release Date
September 12, 1997
Runtime
128 Minutes
Director
David Fincher
Writers
John Brancato, Michael Ferris
