Review of House Of Games

Introduction

Curiously I occasionally get films to review about compulsive behaviour and gambling, I`m sure it`s nothing to do with my day job as a croupier in a swanky London club. House of Games is the name of a club that Maggie Ford goes to. Not a gambler she is seeking out a character called Mike. Maggie is a clinical psychologist dealing with compulsive behaviour. One of her clients pulls a gun in a session and threatens to shoot himself. He is so deeply in debt to Mike that he doesn`t know what to do. He begs Maggie to help him. Meeting Mike, Maggie is seduced by the idea of the world of the scam. Mike offers to show her the ropes and events contrive to draw her further into his seedy world.

Another blast from the past, this time 1987 and an odd back catalogue issue. Directed by David Mamet this was his first film at the helm. He also wrote it along with Jonathan Katz. Mamet`s previous credits were for screenplays including `Glengarry Glen Ross` and the steamy remake of `The Postman Always Rings Twice`.

For those interested in trivia Lindsay Crouse is best known in the UK for her appearance as mad professor Maggie Walsh in Season Four of Buffy. The inimitable late J.T Walsh also appears for an all too brief performance. The late Lilla Skala, who according to the IMDB was 91 when she made this film, is Maggie`s mentor and friend a role she previously played with Jennifer Beals in Flashdance. Popping up for a two minute slot is William H. Macey projecting his usual anxious persona. Sorry my trivia button was stuck on play there for a minute.

Video

A bare bones release this print shows little damage possibly due to a limited release and early video transfer. The picture quality is good. The locations are limited with much of the action taking place at night.

Audio

The film has a likeable jazz oriented soundtrack that helps to pace the action. Being a screenplay by somebody from the `the-a- tre` this is mainly dialogue based.

Features

This has been released at the budget end of the market and comes with subtitles in several useful languages. It also has the original trailer which has its own certain charm. Being a trailer it tries to cram all the best bits of the film into it, making the film redundant.

Conclusion

This is the kind of film to watch when you are bored with life. With a glass of wine it may even seem reasonable but in the cold light of day it becomes laughable. It relies heavily on an overdose of plot contrivance that would put a soap opera to shame. When it thinks it is being really clever it turns the audience off. Being a fan of dialogue I enjoyed the interplay with the characters but never really engaged with them. The two leads lack chemistry and I became irritated by the whiney voice of Joe Mantegna as Mike. They are simply unlikely and unlikable; two dimensional ciphers purveying the character requirements of the writer. Getting to the end of the film and its supposedly shocking finale I was left feeling rather flat. It has been done before; it has been done better than this. `House of Games` will no doubt crop up as a Five space filler and you could sample it there.