House of Games will keep you on your toes and guessing from beginning to end, meaning there's seldom a boring moment to be found.
The atmosphere of the film is properly dark. Ford notes the necessity to be in dark places to do dark deeds when she steps into Mike's shady climate of scruffy taverns and smoky gambling dens. The movie's soft jazz background score perfectly complements the restrained, unobtrusive tone of the story as well.
The drawbacks of a Mamet mystery are here, too, and for some viewers they can be somewhat off-putting. As usual, his characters speak odd, overly precise dialogue, spitting out words in terse, staccato cadences, often with a complete lack of inflection. Maybe it's the playwright in him that forces Mamet to make us listen to his words rather than only to react to his characters' feelings. It may also be off-putting to some viewers that as we come more and more to expect to be fooled, so we begin to anticipate and question every move and action in the plot. Rather than just accepting what is happening, we tend to say to ourselves, "I will be on my guard; I refuse to be taken in. Mamet will not fool me this time; I am too clever for him." And Mamet knows this and dares us to anticipate him. Thus, the movie itself becomes a "house of games," constantly keeping us alert, constantly pulling us into its sport.
Video:
The picture, displayed in a 1.69:1 widescreen ratio, is lucent but slightly soft and blurred. There are some shimmering lines here and there, especially noticeable in the chrome trim along the sides of cars and in Venetian blinds, always hard to reproduce. The image is fairly clean and clear of grain, though. A standard-screen version accompanies the widescreen, but it can be safely ignored.
Audio:
The monaural sound does little but communicate dialogue, with a bit of background noise noticeable from time to time, hiss and low-level rumble mostly. The noise mysteriously comes and goes.
Extras:
There's almost nothing in the way of bonus items, either. English, French, and Spanish are the spoken language choices, French and Spanish subtitles, twenty-four scene selections, and a theatrical trailer. That's about it.
Parting Thoughts:
Incidentally, you might look for William H. Macy and J.T. Walsh in minor roles along the way. Keeping a sharp eye open and a clear head about you is prerequisite to enjoying the film. If not all of "House of Games" holds up to later scrutiny, it isn't for Mamet's lack of trying. It's not only a clever whodunit, it's a clever "why'd they do that?"
The drawbacks of a Mamet mystery are here, too, and for some viewers they can be somewhat off-putting. As usual, his characters speak odd, overly precise dialogue, spitting out words in terse, staccato cadences, often with a complete lack of inflection. Maybe it's the playwright in him that forces Mamet to make us listen to his words rather than only to react to his characters' feelings. It may also be off-putting to some viewers that as we come more and more to expect to be fooled, so we begin to anticipate and question every move and action in the plot. Rather than just accepting what is happening, we tend to say to ourselves, "I will be on my guard; I refuse to be taken in. Mamet will not fool me this time; I am too clever for him." And Mamet knows this and dares us to anticipate him. Thus, the movie itself becomes a "house of games," constantly keeping us alert, constantly pulling us into its sport.
Video:
The picture, displayed in a 1.69:1 widescreen ratio, is lucent but slightly soft and blurred. There are some shimmering lines here and there, especially noticeable in the chrome trim along the sides of cars and in Venetian blinds, always hard to reproduce. The image is fairly clean and clear of grain, though. A standard-screen version accompanies the widescreen, but it can be safely ignored.
Audio:
The monaural sound does little but communicate dialogue, with a bit of background noise noticeable from time to time, hiss and low-level rumble mostly. The noise mysteriously comes and goes.
Extras:
There's almost nothing in the way of bonus items, either. English, French, and Spanish are the spoken language choices, French and Spanish subtitles, twenty-four scene selections, and a theatrical trailer. That's about it.
Parting Thoughts:
Incidentally, you might look for William H. Macy and J.T. Walsh in minor roles along the way. Keeping a sharp eye open and a clear head about you is prerequisite to enjoying the film. If not all of "House of Games" holds up to later scrutiny, it isn't for Mamet's lack of trying. It's not only a clever whodunit, it's a clever "why'd they do that?"
Avearage user rating (1-5):