Fincher Countdown Part 2 - The Game

Hello everyone and welcome to Some Like It Scott's latest limited series: the Fincher Countdown. Each week in the lead up to David Fincher's latest film, Mank, the two Scotts and countdown special guest, Jay Habib, will be working their way through most* of David Fincher's filmography in chronological order, starting from his non-franchise debut, the neo-noir psychological detective thriller, SEVEN, leading all the way to 2014's GONE GIRL. Join us each week as we talk about a different Fincher film!

 

On Part 2 of the countdown, Scott, Scott, and Jay take a look back at one of the films in this countdown series that none of them have seen: David Fincher's follow-up in the thriller genre, THE GAME. THE GAME follows Michael Douglas's Nicholas van Orton, an ultra-wealthy investment banker, who is haunted by his father's suicide when he was a child and who is a loner as a result of his estranged relationship with his ex-wife, as well as his aloof brother, Conrad (Sean Penn). On Nicholas's 48th birthday, (not so) coincidentally the same birthday his father committed suicide on, Conrad presents his brother with a gift voucher, which serves as a free referral to a company, Consumer Recreation Services (CRS), that offers one service: a game. It is not at all clear what exactly the game is, but Conrad assures his brother that it'll change his life, as it has changed his own, and Nicholas begrudgingly gives it a shot. It quickly becomes clear that whatever the game is, it's not as innocent or free-spirited as Conrad had made it seem at the time, and soon enough, Nicholas is swept into the machinations of CRS and their game, trying to find his way to the bottom of the many mysteries, before he pays the price in his own life. The countdown trio give their thoughts on what is essentially Fincher's sophomore outing, and whether the successes he found in SEVEN are carried forward in his second twisty tale.