House of Games

David Mamet
1987

David Mamet is nothing if not a writer, and a hammy one at that. In this, one of his most celebrated films, his mannered dialogue and blunt ideas are thrust on the screen with all the strenuous specificity of a stage play. Shrink-come-author Maggie Ford gets mixed up with an ace con-man and his grifter pals, soon finding seductive allure in deception while learning greater truths about her own nature along the way. The main attraction here is the interplay between con and reveal, and some of the tricks are downright thrilling. Unfortunately the artifice behind film's major "job" is surprisingly and painfully obvious - if the audience gets it by this point it seems that Dr. Ford should also. The absolute lack of naturalism in the dialogue comes off as hokey with dollops of hyperbole and deliberate metaphors spewing back and forth between partner/victim/lovers. The picture is worthwhile for it's stunts and mischievous tone alone, but certainly retains it's stage-like quality to a fault.