The Game (1997)

"We provide... whatever's lacking."
Nicolas Van Orton is having the most unbelievably bad week. His home is vandalized, a taxi driver tries driving him into the bay, he's left for dead in Mexico. It's like a serious version of The Hangover except this is more of a mind**** because Nicolas paid for this service. C.R.S is either the biggest scam ever or the most elaborate prank ever, and the viewer gets to decide which is which thanks to an ending somewhat open to interpretation. Michael Douglas is great as Mr. Van Orton successfully carrying his character's arch to completion without ever breaking the mold of a ridiculously successful and yet very unhappy Scrooge type character. Fincher himself said this is a post-modern version of A Christman Carol. His hypnotic style works well in building it's mystery but I found some conflict with Fincher's gritty realism and this often non-sensical storyline. While it doesn't live up to Se7en, its still a very fun thriller and worth the time!

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