Title
Funny Games (2007)
Directed by
Michael Haneke
Writing credits
Michael Haneke
Selected Cast
Naomi Watts ... Ann
Tim Roth ... George
Michael Pitt ... Paul
Brady Corbet ... Peter
Devon Gearhart ... Georgie
Boyd Gaines ... Fred
Siobhan Fallon ... Betsy (as Siobhan Fallon Hogan)
Robert LuPone ... Robert
Susanne C. Hanke ... Betsy's Sister-in-Law
Linda Moran ... Eve
Review
Funny Games (2007) is Michael Haneke’s remake of the 1997 Austrian film by the same name. The story covers the experience of a family who is held hostage in their vacation home by a pair of preppie sociopaths.
Funny Games is benefiting commercially from a bit of controversy. I watched the movie and quickly realized why the movie is generating controversy. In short, Funny Games is a sick movie. If you do not want spoilers, stop reading here. Otherwise, you are about to learn exactly why Funny Games is sick. (Spoilers in italics.)
The twisted preppie friends Paul (Michael Pitt) and Peter (Brady Corbet) take advantage of a nice, trusting family. Paul kills their golden retriever with a golf club and then takes the family hostage. They mentally and physically torture the family throughout the night. Eventually, Peter murders the family’s young (9 to 12 year old) son (Devon Gearhart) with a shotgun as part of a game. After more torture, they kill the father of the family (Tim Roth) with a knife and a shotgun as part of another game. With only the mother (Naomi Watts) left, Paul and Peter take her out on a sailboat and mercilessly drown her. In the final scene of the movie, we realize that Paul and Peter have found the next family they wish to torture and kill.
The plot of Funny Games just never went anywhere. The "games" are shallow, pointless, and uncreative. There is no big master plan or greater purpose. There is just no payoff, lesson, or enlightening experience in this movie. Funny Games could have redeemed itself by making some sort of an interesting and original point, but the movie did not cover any significant new ground (with the exception of a couple of rarely used cinematic devices, such as Paul directly speaking to the audience and some false foreshadowing).
Michael Haneke will probably defend himself by saying he made a commentary about violence, but that excuse is getting a little old, and he failed to establish any particular point of view with this movie. The result is a movie with gratuitous mental and physical torture where no unique or clever point ever presents itself. And, by the way, do not go into this movie expecting some big revelation or hidden twist. There are no big secrets in this movie. Once you figure out this is just about killing innocent people for fun, you pretty much have a full grasp of everything you are going to see.
If you like watching innocent animals, children, and adults get humiliated, tortured, and murdered for sport, you will love Funny Games. If you do not like that sort of thing, Funny Games will be a waste of your time and probably disgust you. Unless you are a sadistic person or budding serial killer, there is just nothing here for you.
Rating (1-10)
2
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