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February 09, 2005
House of Games
House of Games (1987), David Mamet:
I'm definitely not a a Mamet guy. That being said, he still makes a good movie when he's not counting on his dialogue and masculinity to bail him out.
As the Mamet heist/con movies go, this is definitely better than Heist (and Ronin, but that doesn't really count), but doesn't quite reach the levels of The Spanish Prisoner. Like Prisoner, the use of genre is just used as a vehicle for the real substance of the movie. In this way, he really shares a kinship with Michael Mann.
The con actually isn't that flashy, but it and the Mamet style provide just enough cover to let the themes of guilt and obsession develop quietly in the background. It's a little raw, so the Mamet sheen isn't quite developed into its full blossom. Where it breaks, though, the realism is a little disturbing, which is definitely one of its perks.
13/15
Posted by bing at February 9, 2005 11:37 PM